Despite Europe’s strong scientific base and growing biotech sector, many companies still turn to US markets for scale and visibility
Belgian biopharma firm UCB has entered one of the most aggressive strategic expansion phases in its recent history, using acquisitions and partnerships across the United States, China and Europe to rapidly expand its biotechnology capabilities.
The dealmaking comes amid intensifying global competition in biotechnology, pushing European mid-sized companies to move earlier and faster to secure innovative therapies.
The Brussels-based company announced in early May that it would acquire US biotech company Candid Therapeutics in a transaction worth up to $2.2 billion, including $2 billion in upfront cash. The deal gives UCB access to cizutamig, a BCMA x CD3 bispecific T-cell engager being studied in autoimmune diseases.
The acquisition followed UCB’s April deal to buy another American biotechnology company, Neurona Therapeutics, for up to $1.15 billion, adding a cell therapy programme in epilepsy.
