• Applications open June 1 for UCB’s Hidradenitis Suppurativa Scholarship™ Program
• Informed by patient insights, the initiative builds on UCB’s network of scholarship programs in myasthenia gravis and epilepsy

ATLANTA, June 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the launch of the inaugural UCB Hidradenitis Suppurativa Scholarship™ Program, designed to support adults age 18 and older living with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and their immediate family members, in pursuing education and career development.

Applications for the inaugural HS scholarship program open on June 1, 2026, and applicants may apply at www.ucbhsscholarship.com through September 1, 2026. In 2026, UCB will award up to 11 scholarships.

“This community is made up of people who are resilient, inspired, and incredibly driven,” said Rhonda Peebles, Head of U.S. Dermatology, UCB. “With the UCB Hidradenitis Suppurativa Scholarship™ Program, we are proud to be investing in the goals of people living with HS and their families, and opening up opportunities when they may have needed to prioritize navigating the challenges of HS over their education or career.”

The pain of HS can go beyond just physical, including feelings of embarrassment or isolation, and it often impacts people’s lives significantly, including in work and school.^1-3

PreShus Lee, who lives with HS, explained how her diagnosis created barriers initially before ultimately fueling her own educational achievements and belief in her abilities.

“Finishing my education became more than just a milestone; it was a way of reclaiming my narrative and proving to myself that HS doesn’t get to define my future,” said Lee. “A scholarship like this can help relieve some of the weight that people with HS, and our families, carry every day. More than anything, it’s a reminder that our stories matter, our experiences aren’t invisible, and that someone believes in the people we are becoming.”

The UCB Hidradenitis Suppurativa Scholarship™ Program aims to help ease the financial burden associated with education and skills development, including undergraduate or graduate studies, certification programs, trade school, and other career-building pathways.

This program builds on UCB’s work in the HS community, including events, such as the HS Summit and the HS Advocate Community Program, and educational initiatives, like MakeHStory. It is also part of UCB’s broader effort to offer scholarships to the patient communities UCB aims to serve, including myasthenia gravis and epilepsy.

Additional information and eligibility criteria, application requirements, selection details, and important deadlines are available at www.ucbhsscholarship.com.

About hidradenitis suppurativa

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, painful, and potentially debilitating inflammatory skin disease that is associated with systemic manifestations.^5-6 The main symptoms are nodules, abscesses, and pus-discharging draining tunnels (or sinus tracts leading out of the skin) which typically occur in the armpits, groin, and buttocks.^5-6 People with HS experience flare-ups of the disease as well as severe pain, which can have a major impact on quality of life.^5-6 HS develops in early adulthood and affects approximately one percent of the population in most studied countries.^5-6

For further information, contact UCB:

Investor Relations 
Yvonne Naughton
T +44.175.344.7521
email yvonne.naughton@ucb.com

Brand Communications
Nicole Herga
T +1.773.960.5349
email nicole.herga@ucb.com

About UCB 
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 9000 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of € 7.7 billion in 2025. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on X: @UCBUSA.

Forward-looking statements 
This document contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “potential”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “may”, “will”, “continue” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial information, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices and other such estimates and results. By their nature, such forward-looking statements are not guaranteeing future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions which might cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of UCB, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this document.

Important factors that could result in such differences include but are not limited to: global spread and impacts of wars, pandemics and terrorism, the general geopolitical environment, climate change, changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to obtain them on acceptable terms or within expected timing, costs associated with research and development, changes in the prospects for products in the pipeline or under development by UCB, effects of future judicial decisions or governmental investigations, safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues, supply chain disruption and business continuity risks; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of UCB’s information technology systems, product liability claims, challenges to patent protection for products or product candidates, competition from other products including biosimilars or disruptive technologies/business models, changes in laws or regulations, exchange rate fluctuations, changes or uncertainties in laws and/or rules pertaining to tax and duties or the administration of such laws and/or rules, and hiring, retention and compliance of employees. There is no guarantee that new product candidates will be discovered or identified in the pipeline, or that new indications for existing products will be developed and approved. Movement from concept to commercial product is uncertain; preclinical results do not guarantee safety and efficacy of product candidates in humans. So far, the complexity of the human body cannot be reproduced in computer models, cell culture systems or animal models. The length of the timing to complete clinical trials and to get regulatory approval for product marketing has varied in the past and UCB expects similar unpredictability going forward. Products or potential products which are the subject of partnerships, joint ventures or licensing collaborations may be subject to disputes between the partners or may prove to be not as safe, effective or commercially successful as UCB may have believed at the start of such partnership. UCB’s efforts to acquire other products or companies and to integrate the operations of such acquired companies may not be as successful as UCB may have believed at the moment of acquisition. Also, UCB or others could discover safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products and/or devices after they are marketed. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of UCB’s products that implicate an entire class of products may have a material adverse effect on sales of the entire class of affected products. Moreover, sales may be impacted by international and domestic trends toward managed care and health care cost containment, including pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, and the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers as well as legislation affecting biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement activities and outcomes. Finally, a breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of UCB’s data and systems.

Given these uncertainties, the public is cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this document, and do not reflect any potential impacts from the evolving event or risk as mentioned above as well as any other adversity, unless indicated otherwise. The company continues to follow the development diligently to assess the financial significance of these events, as the case may be, to UCB.

UCB expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this document, either to confirm the actual results or to report or reflect any change in its forward-looking statements with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, unless such statement is required pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.

References

1. Shukla N, et al. Identifying barriers to care and research in hidradenitis suppurativa: findings from a patient engagement event. Br J Dermatol. 2020;182(6):1490-1492.
2. Mahon JM, et al. An update on health-related quality of life and patient-reported outcomes in hidradenitis suppurativa. Patient Relat Outcome Meas. 2020;11:21-26.
3. Ureña-Paniego C, Soto-Moreno A, Díaz-Calvillo P, et alS. Impact of Hidradenitis Suppurativa on Major Life-Changing Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Study. Indian J Dermatol. 2025;70(5):283-286.
4. Sabat R, Jemec GBE, Matusiak L, et al. Hidradenitis suppurativa. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6(1):18.
5. Jemec GBE. Clinical practice. Hidradenitis suppurativa. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(2):158–64.

Date of preparation: May 2026
©2026 UCB, Inc., Smyrna, GA 30080. All rights reserved.
UCB Hidradenitis Suppurativa Scholarship™ is a trademark of the UCB Group of Companies.
US-DA-2600432

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