UCB lifts 2026 outlook again as Bimzelx demand eases investor concerns (updated)

UCB SA

Today 07:03

Adds chart, share price move in paragraph 1, 3, analyst comment in 5, results detail throughout
By Lucie Barbier
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Belgian biopharmaceutical group UCB UCB.BR raised its 2026 guidance for a second time this year on Thursday after strong demand and improved pricing for its key drugs in the United States, easing investor concerns about growth momentum and sending its shares sharply higher.
Shares in the company jumped around 12% by 0930 GMT and were heading for their biggest one-day gain in more than a year, making UCB the top performer on the pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX.
Its shares had dipped in July as investors questioned whether some of the first-half earnings outperformance could be repeated in the second half.
The maker of treatments for severe immune-system and neurological diseases said demand for its blockbuster anti-inflammatory medicine Bimzelx accelerated in the United States, while off-patent Cimzia continued to gain prescriptions.
UCB said faster patient conversion, higher retention rates and more favourable U.S. net pricing for Bimzelx had supported the upgrade. SECOND GUIDANCE UPGRADE
The company, which had already raised guidance in July, now expects adjusted EBITDA growth in the low- to mid-forties percentage range at constant exchange rates, up from a previous forecast of growth in the mid-teens to low-twenties.
It also expects revenue growth in the low-twenties percentage range, compared with previous guidance for low- to mid-teens growth.
"U.S. pricing was a key issue for UCB investors ... this upgrade sends a clear signal that pricing is less of a concern, as it is clearly being offset by higher volumes," KBC analyst Mathijs Geerts Danau said.
       


 (Reporting by Lucie Barbier in Gdansk, Editing by Matt Scuffham and Anna Pruchnicka)
 ((Email: lucie.barbier@thomsonreuters.com))