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Welcome to UCB in the United States

U.S. Public Policy Inspired by Patients

 

UCB is committed to the discovery, development, and delivery of differentiated solutions that provide measurable value to people living with severe diseases, their caregivers and their families to allow them to live their best lives now and in the future, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic circumstance. We focus on addressing unmet needs and creating sustainable solutions for patients, the health system, and society. As such, we are dedicated to the continued evolution of a healthcare and public policy ecosystem that recognizes and rewards innovation, encourages value-based care, and promotes affordable and equitable access to medicines that patients need. 

Our approach to public policy is anchored to our purpose: to create value for patients now and into the future as well as UCB’s patient value ambition which aims to: 
 

  • Continuously innovate to bring differentiated solutions with unique outcomes that help specific patients achieve their life goals, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic circumstances;
  • Create for them the best individual experience; and
  • Ensure affordable and equitable access to each and every patient who can benefit from these solutions in a way that is viable for UCB, and for communities and society. 

This approach guides our engagement and partnerships in the healthcare ecosystem and in public policy. At UCB, patients are at the center of our approach to public policy. Therefore, we focus on promoting innovation that provides solutions for unmet clinical needs, ensuring that the value of medicines is fairly recognized, and that patients have equitable, affordable access to the care they need. 

At UCB, sustainability means we recognize the essential link between human health and the health of the planet, while also focusing on ensuring that patients who need access to our medicines in a way that is viable for patients, society, and UCB. We strive to make a meaningful difference now and into the future - by focusing our policy work not only on what will make an impact in the short-term, but also over the long-term, keeping both current and future generations in mind. We do not advocate for policies that would come at the expense of continued innovation, equity and inclusion, or transparency and integrity.

UCB recognizes that we are part of a healthcare ecosystem system, and a society that are continually undergoing change. The critical importance of a sustainable healthcare system has rarely been more apparent as a result of not only a global pandemic, but also the recognition of social inequalities and the dramatic impact of climate change.  Our commitment to patient value means that our approach to public policy must recognize and adapt to these changes and that our advocacy continues its focus on delivering solutions which meet both patients’ and society's evolving needs. 

UCB also recognizes the healthcare ecosystem is comprised of multiple stakeholders with unique perspectives. Each of those stakeholders has a unique role to play in working to improve individual patients’ health, as well as achieving public health priorities. Considering this dynamic, UCB continually encourages stakeholders to work together to achieve these dual goals, including through strategic partnerships to find ways to amplify individual contributions. Through our actions, engagement, and partnerships, we are dedicated to the continued evolution of an equitable policy environment that recognizes and rewards innovation, encourages value-based care, and promotes affordable access to medicines for patients.

 
 

Innovation

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Innovation

UCB is committed to the development of transformative solutions that treat, modify, or cure immunologic, neurologic, and rare diseases for people living with unmet medical needs, regardless of social, economic, cultural or geographic status. Therefore, we support policies that:

  • Ensure the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remains true to its mission1 of protecting patient safety and the security of the drug supply chain;
  • Incorporate diverse patient voices into treatment development and regulatory decision-making;
  • Protect incentives to innovate in areas of unmet need, particularly for rare diseases;
  • Provide FDA with tools necessary to ensure harmonization in engagement with U.S. and foreign manufacturers in drug review and manufacturing inspections;
  • Support patient-preferred, innovative clinical trial designs that are inclusive of patients from diverse social, economic, cultural, and geographic backgrounds, particularly those that are underserved;
  • Accelerate innovation through incentives for continued investment and the use of real-world evidence (RWE)2 as a supplement to randomized clinical trials (RCT) in regulatory decision-making; 
  • Increase the ability of payers to partner with innovators earlier in the drug development process; and
  • Advance meaningful protections for innovator intellectual property.

Value-Based Care

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Value-Based-Care

UCB is committed to delivering value-based care for patients, the health system, and society through policy approaches that:

  • Remove policy barriers to collaboration among diverse patient groups, payers, providers, caregivers, and policymakers in developing value- and outcomes-based payment models and incentivize high-value care;
  • Enable greater transparency in the system to improve the visibility of products’ value and how is that value being delivered to patients;
  • Support informed, shared healthcare decision-making between patients and physicians;
  • Promote an environment that rewards value and sustains continued medical innovation;
  • Incorporate both diverse patient voices and RWE into healthcare quality measures and value assessments; and
  • Foster a value assessment environment that recognizes multiple frameworks aligned with broad principles that support sustainable value and equitable access to healthcare beginning in the drug development stages.

Affordable and Equitable Access

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Affordable-Access

UCB is committed to promoting affordable and equitable access to care for all patients through multi-stakeholder policy approaches that::

  • Ensure patients across society have access to a range of health plan options that meet their individual needs and offer robust protections, such as transparent, reliable formularies and affordable out-of-pocket costs;
  • Remove impediments to providers’ ability to prescribe the most appropriate therapy to patients, including step-edits and restrictive formularies, while also reducing patient out-of-pocket expenses; and
  • Permit financial assistance for patients who cannot afford needed medicines, including those from historically underserved communities. Shape the healthcare system to promote unbiased structures and processes to advance equitable access to quality healthcare for all patients, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic circumstance by elevating the patient voice and reframing conversations to prioritize patients over managing potential financial impact to the healthcare system. 

 

DOWNLOAD OUR POLICY POSITIONS

 

 

1 https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/what-we-do

2 UCB considers RWE to be any clinical and/or economic findings with respect to disease burden, treatment utilization and outcomes, comparative effectiveness, etc. that analyzes real-world data. Real-world data includes, but is not limited to, medical and pharmacy administrative claims, electronic medical/health records, product/disease registries, and patient-reported outcomes collected through various channels. Methods and analytical approaches (including artificial intelligence) to real-world data collection and RWE generation can vary but acknowledge that RWE must be appropriately executed based on proposed research objectives and be fit for purpose.

UCB's U.S. Value Assessment Principles

UCB launched our Voices on Value series in recognition of the need to have a critical conversation on value and how we better account for value so patients have affordable access at the pharmacy counter. We will be welcoming a diverse set of stakeholders discussing their views on value and how we create a better healthcare system. We will be covering topics such as value-based contracts, value-based assessment, sustainability, health equity and disparities, transparency, and more. 

Read Our Series
U.S. CLINICAL TRIALS
U.S. INNOVATION
UCB IN THE U.S.

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