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Pierre Fabre acquires Over-The-Counter Business of UCB in France, Benelux, Switzerland and Greece


WEBWIRE

Castres (France) and Brussels (Belgium), January 8, 2006 – Pierre Fabre and UCB jointly announce that Pierre Fabre, a pharmaceutical leader in the European Over-The-Counter (OTC) market, has acquired the OTC business of UCB in France, Benelux, Switzerland and Greece.

The acquisition involves certain mature products with strong brand names (a.o. Carbolevure, Revitalose, Balsoclase, Toclase), representing sales of approximately 18 million euros and a perfect fit with Pierre Fabre’s strategy. The transaction includes the sale of UCB OTC assets in France, Benelux, Switzerland and Greece. UCB will continue to manufacture and supply some of the transferred products during a transitional period.
Furthermore, UCB and Pierre Fabre have entered into a distribution agreement under which Pierre Fabre will pursue the active marketing of UCB’s leading anti-histamine, ZyrtecSet®, in the OTC market in France.

Pierre-Yves Revol, Chief Executive Officer of Pierre Fabre commented, “The acquisition of UCB’s OTC business in these countries perfectly fits Pierre Fabre’s strategy of developing its healthcare division and enlarge its portfolio with strong brands in France, as well as in countries where the group is already well established. Both Pierre Fabre and UCB product ranges complement each other well and the addition of a new sales team will further increase our OTC presence and strengthen our ties with our pharmacy partners.”

Roch Doliveux, Chief Executive Officer of UCB, declared, “This transaction is another step taken by UCB in its strategy to focus on research-driven innovation and novel therapeutic solutions for severe and chronic diseases. We would like to pay tribute to everyone involved in successfully running these OTC activities and wish them the best. Pierre Fabre is certainly the right partner to fully exploit the potential of our portfolio of OTC products in these countries.”

About Pierre Fabre
The Pierre Fabre Group, the second largest independent laboratory in France, employs some 8,620 people, and achieved 1.48 billion euros in sales in 2005. Pierre Fabre Médicament, the pharmaceutical branch of the Pierre Fabre Group, made Research and Development its core business and the key to its future. With 1,400 employees dedicated to R&D, Pierre Fabre Médicament invests 25% of its annual sales to R&D, in five major therapeutic areas in terms of public health: oncology (the priority R&D area of Pierre Fabre Médicament, with 50% of all R&D expenses), central nervous system, cardiology, internal medicine/urology, dermatology.

About UCB
UCB (www.ucb-group.com) is a leading global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialisation of innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology products in the fields of central nervous system disorders, allergy/respiratory diseases, immune and inflammatory disorders and oncology – UCB focuses on securing a leading position in severe disease categories. Employing over 8,300 people in over 40 countries, UCB achieved revenue of 2.3 billion euro in 2005. UCB is listed on the Euronext Brussels Exchange. Worldwide headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.



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