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UCB has agreed with Aesica, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer, that Aesica will acquire current UCB manufacturing businesses in Germany and Italy.
The agreement is part of UCB’s strategy to optimize its manufacturing network in line with the evolution of its portfolio and includes the manufacturing sites of Monheim and Zwickau in Germany and Pianezza in Italy.
The around 600 employees in the three affected sites will continue their activity and be transferred to Aesica.
“UCB’s product portfolio has been changing significantly which reduced UCB’s need for large manufacturing capacity for chemical entities, while increasing its biotech requirements. This new partnership is part of UCB’s strategy to optimize its manufacturing network while securing long-term supply for our products and to ensure a long-term future to the sites and their employees,” said Roch Doliveux, CEO of UCB.
Dr. Robert Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Aesica says: “The acquisition of the three manufacturing sites from UCB is strategically crucial for Aesica as we extend and enhance our current offering and presence in Europe.
“We hope to fully utilize the expertise and knowledge across the current team at UCB to achieve our vision of becoming the leading supplier of Formulated Products and Actives Pharmaceutical Ingredients to the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
“In addition to welcoming the staff at the three sites into the Aesica team, we look forward to working closely with the wider team at UCB, as both companies see this as the first step in developing a long-term strategic partnership.”
Subject to antitrust clearance, closing is expected for the first quarter of 2011. UCB’s financial outlook for 2010 remains unchanged.
