UCB Pharma aims to fulfill a role in improving the day-to-day quality of life for patients suffering from specific diseases worldwide. The company's mission is to develop drugs providing authentic patient benefits based on a profound understanding of patient needs, superior drug efficacy and safety, and user-friendly drug administration mechanisms. UCB is a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company. Using innovative approaches to drug discovery and development, it has an unmatched combination of expertise in both chemically derived medicines and biologics. The key features of the company's R&D organisation are: a dual pipeline approach to Research and Development encompassing both New Chemical Entities (NCEs) and New Biological Entities (NBEs), allowing us to address disease treatment through a range of targets and disease pathways, a global R&D organisation of 1,700 staff, with major research sites in Braine L'Alleud, Belgium; Cambridge and Slough in the UK; and development teams based in Atlanta, Braine L'Alleud, Slough and Tokyo; the company's strategy is to focus on severe diseases treated by specialists, covering three main therapeutic areas: central nervous system, inflammation and immunology (including allergy), and oncology, world-class scientists harnessing leading and in many cases unique technology platforms and a track record of success through working in partnership with academia and other leading drug discovery organisations. UCB R&D actively seeks further partnerships through which it can apply its expertise (particularly in antibody-based drug discovery and development) in order to optimise the delivery of innovative new medicines to the market.