UCB maintains recent growth in first half of 2014

UCB has announced its financial results for the first six months of 2014, during which it generated a revenue total of 1.76 billion euros (1.4 billion pounds).

This represented a year-on-year increase of six percent, or ten percent in constant currency terms. Its key products Cimzia, Vimpat and Neupro achieved combined net sales of 672 million euros during the half-year, up by 25 percent on last year.

Cimzia became the firm's top-selling drug during the period, with net profit and underlying profitability both seeing double-digit increases. A number of key collaborations were also agreed and promising clinical data published for several drugs.

UCB confirmed its financial outlook for 2014 as a whole, with total revenues of between 3.5 and 3.6 billion now expected.

Roch Doliveux, chief executive officer of UCB, said: "I am very excited about the prospects for many more patients around the world to benefit from UCB's medicines, taking into account the good progress in both our early and late-stage pipeline."

Mr Doliveux will be stepping down as chief executive at the end of the year, with Jean-Christophe Tellier to take over from January 1st 2015.