UCB spends US$1.15bn on cell therapy biotech for potential regenerative epilepsy therapy

The acquisition centres on NRTX-1001, Neurona’s lead asset currently in Phase I/II trials for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, a form of the disease that often fails to respond to multiple anti-seizure medications. The therapy uses pluripotent stem cells engineered to produce GABA, the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter, delivered as a single minimally invasive dose directly into the brain to rebalance overactive neural circuits.

Unlike current anti-epileptic drugs that suppress symptoms through daily dosing, NRTX-1001 is designed to provide durable seizure reduction from a one-time treatment. For this compound, UCB is willing to pay US$650m upfront and up to US$500m in milestone payments to Neurona Therapeutics, which was founded in San Diego in 2021.

UCB is hoping the deal will accomplish three things. It builds on the company’s long-standing focus on epilepsy by adding a potential disease-modifying therapy, pushes it into regenerative medicine and cell therapy – areas where it has had limited exposure – and brings in new growth through acquisition rather than relying only on its in-house pipeline. Just last month, UCB closed another billion-dollar deal by licensing Antengen’s preclinical masked T-cell engager for autoimmune diseases.

“Bringing NRTX‑1001 into our portfolio allows us to extend that legacy into the era of regenerative medicine,” commented Jean-Christophe Tellier, Chief Executive Officer at UCB. “We believe this therapy has the potential to provide durable targeted repair of the nervous system following a single dose and could represent a major step forward for people living with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2 2026.