Belgian princess visits Smyrna to celebrate pharma campus expansion

Jun. 7—SMYRNA — Attendees of the latest corporate curtain-raising in Cobb received a royal welcome Monday morning.

At a sprawling office park off Cobb Parkway in Smyrna, Belgian biopharmaceutical firm UCB celebrated the expansion of its American headquarters with a visit from Princess Astrid of Belgium, the archduchess of Austria-Este. The princess, 60, is the younger sister of Belgium's King Phillipe, and fifth in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.

"I think it's a great day for Smyrna," Mayor Derek Norton told the MDJ. "I don't remember any time ever having royalty in our city. But having UCB here with ... I think it's one of the most green or energy-efficient, sustainable buildings in the state, with almost 500 employees. That's a big accomplishment for Smyrna and our economic development efforts."

UCB's campus, which previously housed about 425 people, now employs about 500 people.

The $47.5-million expansion centered around the overhaul of a former warehouse at UCB's 47-acre campus, which was completed last fall. The Smyrna campus has been UCB's American headquarters since 1995.

"The Smyrna campus is finally a true home away from home in Belgium," said Willy Borsus, vice president of the Wallonia region of Belgium. "Driving through this magnificent campus, and after a brief tour of the new inspace ... over all these years, this has proven to be a great location for UCB."

UCB touted the sustainability features of the nearly 70,000-square-foot expansion, which includes two 8,000-gallon rainwater collection cisterns, which irrigate landscaping at the campus, and more than 100 rooftop solar panels which help power operations.

Patty Fritz, head of U.S. corporate affairs, said the firm expects the building to receive both LEED and WELL certifications, but is still waiting on final approval. Both certifications are issued by the U.S. Green Building Council — the LEED certification concerns a building's energy efficiency and carbon footprint. The WELL certification is a newer standard, described by Fritz as "measuring thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well being."

UCB CEO Jean-Christophe Tellier said the building's innovative design will attract employees and encourage people to return to in-person work.

"It's also important for a team to continue to be able to work together, and to be in the same place. And this is what we want to stimulate with an environment like this, where people are happy and energized to come back," Tellier said.

Tellier said UCB has nearly 2,000 employees based in the U.S. across facilities in Smyrna, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The American market represents more than 50% of UCB's annual revenue, he said.

Pascale Delcomminette, head of the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency, said biopharmaceuticals represent more than 36% of exports from Wallonia, and employs about 50,000 people.

The Smyrna campus houses divisions such as communications, legal, regulatory, IT, marketing, public policy and sales. UCB's research and development occurs at other facilities around the world, including the Cambridge location.

In the community, Fritz said UCB supports STEM education for Cobb schools students and local Girl Scout troops.

UCB specializes in immunology and neurology, developing drugs that fight joint and skin disorders, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory diseases and neurological disorders, said Emmanuel Caeymaex, UCB's executive vice president of immunology and U.S. Solutions. The firm is investing in research and development for drugs that treat Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

While many of the drugs UCB develops treat rare disorders, Caeymaex said collectively, about 10% of Americans are affected by one or more of those conditions.

"So those are not small disorders," Caeymaex said. "And in fact, by way of anecdotes, I took an Uber yesterday, and so I described to the driver what we're doing at UCB, she was wondering. And then she said, 'I actually know a person with every single disease that you mentioned.' So that's our mission, that's our purpose. We bring passion, we bring leadership to solving these challenges."

While the princess did not deliver remarks, Astrid unveiled a plaque marking the campus's expansion, and gave a bouquet of flowers to Lakeisha Parnell, a local epilepsy advocate who was honored by UCB.

Parnell was first diagnosed with epilepsy after she had a seizure in 2004 while driving, causing a severe car crash. At the time, she was a single mother with little support system.

She has previously received a scholarship from UCB, and worked with the firm to support other epilepsy patients.

"I pretty much kind of picked my feet up, and just ... started supporting other people that have had it," Parnell told the MDJ. "... For me, that's the No. 1 thing that you'll hear with people with epilepsy, is that they feel alone. And so I made a promise to myself, when I started walking, because I was in a wheelchair for three years, staying in a shelter, that once I literally got on my feet, I would never let anyone else walk this journey by themselves."