UCB, Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Horizons announce new strategic alliance to accelerate development of novel cancer therapies

• Alliance expands on successful multi-project collaboration between UCB and Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development
• Adding to the two programs currently underway with CRUK, UCB has nominated two additional projects from its pipeline for development

Brussels (Belgium) 7th MAY 2026, 07:00 (CEST) – UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced a new multi‑project strategic alliance with Cancer Research UK and its innovation arm, Cancer Research Horizons’. The collaboration will unite Cancer Research UK’s and Cancer Research Horizons’ world‑leading oncology expertise with UCB’s strengths in discovery and development to advance a pipeline of novel investigational oncology candidates.

Under the new alliance, Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development and Cancer Research Horizons’ Therapeutic Innovation teams will work with UCB to progress potential therapeutics from research stages through to early clinical development. The alliance is designed to accelerate the translation of cutting‑edge science into potential new cancer medicines capable of improving outcomes for patients.

The alliance follows a successful multi-project collaboration between UCB and Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development, announced in 2023, which has progressed two antibody drug candidates into ongoing clinical trials recruiting across multiple UK and European sites. The Parties are now expanding the partnership to include earlier‑stage discovery and preclinical programmes, with UCB seeking to leverage Cancer Research UK’s deep oncology knowledge, access to leading clinical investigators, and extensive drug discovery and development capabilities.
As part of the alliance, UCB will nominate research and development projects from its internal discovery pipeline at any stage of development. Each selected project that enters the alliance will be jointly progressed through discovery and preclinical development activities, with Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development then responsible for the design, preparation, sponsorship and performance of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for each candidate.  UCB has nominated two projects to enter this new alliance. 

Research and development costs will be funded jointly by the partners. UCB will retain exclusive rights to further develop and commercialise all programmes that enter the alliance and Cancer Research Horizons will receive undisclosed success-based milestone and royalty payments contingent on downstream project progression.

Lars Erwig, Director of the Centre for Drug Development at Cancer Research UK, said: “This alliance exemplifies our mission to translate exceptional science into life‑changing treatments for people with cancer. By integrating our oncology expertise with UCB’s strengths in molecule discovery, we can accelerate the development of innovative therapeutics with the potential to make real impact for patients.”

Alistair Henry, Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer at UCB said, “Partnering with CRUK’s Centre for Drug Development and Cancer Research Horizons allows us to harness their world-class oncology expertise and clinical insights, complementing UCB’s strengths in discovery and development. This collaboration is a testament to the power of strategic alliances and creates a unique synergy that will enable us to advance promising therapies more efficiently and effectively.”