UCB SET TO BUY U.K. BIOTECH FIRM

UCB GROUP, THE BELGIAN specialty chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate, will acquire British bio-pharmaceutical company Celltech Group for $2.7 billion. Industry analysts say that the deal, which will create Europe's second largest biopharma company after Novo Nordisk, signals UCB's likely exit from chemicals. The acquisition will combine UCB's small-molecule drug business with Celltech's biotech research capabilities and pipeline. In particular, UCB obtains exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Celltech's lead drug candidate, CDP870, which is currently in Phase III clinical trials for arthritis and Crohn's disease. Celltech, the largest biopharma concern in England, will be the latest in a wave of British biotech companies acquired by drug firms with the development and commercialization heft needed to introduce new drugs. According to Christophe Van Vaeck, a stock analyst with Belgium's KBC Bank & Verzekering, acquiring Celltech will be a coup for UCB. "In the future, it will be imp...