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.