UCB offers further expanded access to clinical study data

UCB has taken a new step to make its clinical data more freely accessible to medical researchers.

It has become the first midcap biopharma company to join the new Multi-Sponsor Environment, which allows scientists to request access to anonymised patient-level data and supporting documents from clinical studies to conduct further research.

UCB will be accepting requests relating to pivotal clinical studies that were used in the regulatory approval processes of its core medicines. Requests for access to additional clinical study data will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The firm's policy on data sharing aligns with principles laid down by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Professor Dr Iris Loew-Friedrich, chief medical officer and executive vice-president of UCB, said: "We have committed to sharing data from our clinical studies in a responsible way. We hope this will enhance disease understanding, generate new insights and help develop new treatments."

During the first half of 2014, the company experienced a year-on-year revenue increase of six percent, thanks to improved sales of its core products Cimzia, Vimpat and Neupro.