Deals Report: Selling assets to CBC and Mubadala, UCB turns China focus to innovation

As part of its sharpened focus on innovation and strategic partnerships in China, UCB said on Monday that it is selling its mature regional business in the country to CBC and Mubadala. The announcement headlines a summer lull among dealmakers along with a pair of ADC deals.

Belgium-based UCB S.A. (Euronext:UCB) has divested its mature neurology and allergy business in China to Singapore-based CBC Group and Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company for $680 million. The neurology portfolio, which includes Keppra levetiracetam, Vimpat lacosamide and Neupro rotigotine, and the allergy portfolio, which includes Zyrtec cetirizine and Xyzal levocetirizine, together brought in 2023 China sales of €131 million ($144.6 million). The deal also includes the sale of UCB’s Zuhai manufacturing site. With this divestiture, UCB will now focus on launching new medicines in immunology, neurology, and rare diseases in China. ...