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Title
Trusted AI at scale: UCB accelerates innovation for patients with Microsoft Foundry
…loyees save time, gain confidence in decisions, and focus on higher-value work. Moving from concept to production in under six months shows how AI—built on Microsoft Foundry and Azure OpenAI—can deliver enterprise-scale impact…
Description
Belgian biopharmaceutical company UCB built SKAI, a secure AI platform on Microsoft Foundry and Azure OpenAI, including the Milton assistant that drafts medical writing documents and Programmer Mike that translates statistical code, moving from concept to production in under six months and aiming to grow Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption from 50% to 80% of employees.
AI assistant Milton supports UCB's medical writers by generating structured first drafts based on validated sources.
Programmer Mike assists UCB's clinical statisticians by translating and maintaining large volumes of statistical code across platforms.
Company
UCB
…workflows today and helping drive future patient breakthroughs. READ THE STORY UCB, a global biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Belgium, is dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe neurological and immunological conditions. To meet this mission, the company faces a growing challenge: how to manage risi…
Country
Belgium
…Microsoft Entra ID SERVICES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATION SIZE 1,000-9,999 employees COUNTRY/REGION Belgium BUSINESS NEED Employee experience Scaled operations Artificial Intelligence IND…
Industry
Pharmaceuticals
…ium BUSINESS NEED Employee experience Scaled operations Artificial Intelligence INDUSTRY Biotech Share the story Explore related stories /h2> "> Explore related stories Stories…
Problem
As a global biopharmaceutical leader serving patients with severe neurological and immunological conditions, UCB faced growing data volumes and needed a secure, compliant way to scale AI across research and operations while protecting sensitive patient data and intellectual property in a highly regulated industry.
…le with severe neurological and immunological conditions. To meet this mission, the company faces a growing challenge: how to manage rising data volumes, ensure compliance in a highly regulated industry, and accelerate the delivery of science to patients. To overcome this, UCB is combining world-class science with cutting-edge digita…
Solution
UCB built SKAI, an internal secure, modular platform for generative and agent-based AI, on Microsoft Azure, powered by Microsoft Foundry and using Azure OpenAI as a core capability, with data, models, and applications run within UCB's own secure cloud. SKAI integrates Azure OpenAI, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure API Management, and Microsoft Entra ID for enterprise-grade security, role-based access control, and scale. It powers a family of domain assistants, including Milton, which generates structured first-draft medical writing documents from validated sources for writers to refine and validate, and Programmer Mike, which translates and maintains statistical code across platforms for clinical statisticians. UCB also fosters a global AI community and Tech Studio approach where employees co-create assistants and share learnings, and launched SKAI Labs for safe experimentation with multiple large language models.
…o every assistant can operate with trust, reliability, and compliance at scale. SKAI also integrates a broad range of Azure services, including Azure OpenAI, Cosmos DB, Azure API Management, and Entra ID—among others. Together, these services provide enterprise-grade security, role-…
Business value
SKAI moved from concept to production in under six months. Milton lets medical writers start from a quality draft, resulting in faster turnaround and greater consistency, while Programmer Mike helps statisticians work faster and learn new languages, saving time and strengthening expertise. UCB anticipates its Microsoft 365 Copilot employee adoption rate soon rising from 50% to 80%.
…matters most. “With Milton, medical writers can start from a quality draft, and Programmer Mike helps statisticians work faster while learning new languages. It saves time and strengthens expertise at the same time.” Elisa Rebentisch, Digital Technology Lead AI for Clinical Development, UCB AI…
AI capabilities
Generative AI, Agentic AI, Conversational AI
…icrosoft. After introducing Microsoft Copilot to support everyday productivity, UCB created SKAI, its internal platform for generative and agent-based AI. Built securely on Azure, SKAI protects intellectual property and patient data…
Business functions
Research & Development
…of the way we work every day,” says Pieter Deurinck. Trusted domain assistants: Enabling specialized use cases in clinical and regulatory contexts, where accuracy, compliance, and transparency are non-negotiable. Transformational impact: Challenging UCB to fundamentally rethink how value is…
Technology
Azure, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure API Management, Microsoft Entra ID
…Digital Technology Strategy & Solutions, UCB Discover more details CUSTOMER UCB PRODUCTS Azure Azure OpenAI Azure AI Foundry Microsoft Copilot Microsoft 365 Copilot Azure Cosmos DB Azure API Management Microsoft Entra ID SERVICES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATION SIZE 1,000-9,999 employees COUNTRY/REGION Bel…
Headline outcome
…loyees save time, gain confidence in decisions, and focus on higher-value work. Moving from concept to production in under six months shows how AI—built on Microsoft Foundry and Azure OpenAI—can deliver enterprise-scale impact…
Use case type
Content generation
AI assistant Milton supports UCB's medical writers by generating structured first drafts based on validated sources.
