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UCB in Rare Diseases: Driven by Patient Value, Not Patient Numbers

A white quote card with UCB branding shows UCB's dedication to fighting rare diseases and helping patients.

  

 

At UCB, our core belief has remained solid for more than 90 years: Everyone deserves to live the best life that they can – as free as possible from the challenges and uncertainty of disease. This belief fuels our ambition to create value and make real improvements in the lives of people living with severe diseases, now and into the future. Across many decades of serving people living with epilepsy, UCB has worked alongside patient advocates, patient community leaders, and like-minded innovators to create meaningful solutions that improve lives and support the emotional and social well-being of people living with severe diseases.

  


As a continuation of our leadership and heritage in epilepsy, and a progression of our science, UCB is leveraging our experience to develop treatments for rare neurological diseases, such as myasthenia gravis (MG). MG represents a rare, chronic auto-immune neuromuscular disease associated with muscle weakness, which can result in symptoms such as drooping eyelids and double vision in addition to more severe and life-threatening failure of the muscles that help with swallowing and breathing. For people living with MG, these symptoms may regularly interfere with aspects of their everyday lives.

  

UCB’s rare disease journey began when a UCB scientist had a family member living with a rare auto-immune disease who was suffering from challenging symptoms as a result of the standard of care.

His existing expertise combined with this personal connection inspired him to seek a more effective solution that could make an impact in the lives of others. He worked to better understand the FcRn mechanism to create a method of action to reduce the half-life of the antibodies that cause auto-immune disease. He didn’t just see a patient; he saw a person in need and was motivated to change their day-to-day experience.

 

 

A blue box with the text Inspired by Patients Driven by Science.

People living with rare diseases may often feel forgotten, unheard or misunderstood. The challenges they face can be magnified by isolation, and they may wonder if anyone else cares about what they need. They worry their disease affects too few people for anyone to care. At UCB, we know the greatest needs can’t always be measured in numbers. We don’t just see patients or population sizes; we see people in need.

A pink box with the text Dedicated to Improving Patient Experiences and Delivering Total Outcomes

For people living with a rare disease, every day may be different. We continuously innovate to bring differentiated solutions with unique outcomes to patients, helping them achieve their own goals, create their best individual experience, and live their best possible lives.

A yellow box with the text Focused on Diseases with the Greatest Patients Needs

We are driven by our commitment to people living with severe diseases who inspire our research and development across neurology, immunology, and other areas where our expertise, innovation, and ambition align with unmet needs. Our work in rare diseases spans diseases such as myasthenia gravis (MG), immune-thrombocytopenia (ITP), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

  

  


Within our pipeline, UCB is working to find a comprehensive approach for patients living with myasthenia gravis (MG). This is a narrow and focused population where new therapies could change disease course. Part of our comprehensive approach is also pursuing innovations that go beyond medications. UCB is also providing the tools, technology, education, and support to foster a more connected, tailored experience for patients and their families, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and advocacy groups. 

   

Whether through cutting-edge science, progressive approaches to access, or pioneering health-tech solutions, our approach keeps people living with MG at the heart of everything we do.

With a portfolio of treatment options combined with integrated support, we are committed to finding solutions for rare diseases, like MG, with a high degree of patient need by delivering purposeful innovations and differentiated solutions, creating value that cannot be expressed in numbers alone.

 

 

Learn more about how UCB is working to elevate the voice of people living with myasthenia gravis (MG) in a conversation between UCB medical and clinical leaders and patients. 

 

We are inspired by the need to make positive impacts in the lives of people living with severe diseases. We are driven by science to translate patient insights into unique, disease-modifying solutions that provide value and transform the patient experience. Optimizing patient experiences at every touch point is integral to everything we do – and our approach to rare diseases is no different.  

  

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