UCB cuts $1.15bn deal to buy epilepsy biotech Neurona

Belgium's UCB has dipped its toe into the M&A waters once again with an agreement to buy US biotech Neurona Therapeutics and its cell therapy for epilepsy.

The takeover – which, if completed, will be the third acquisition for UCB this decade – involves an upfront payment of $650 million with another $500 million payable to privately-held, San Francisco-based Neurona on the achievement of undisclosed objectives in the coming years.

Neurona's lead programme is NRTX-1001, an off-the-shelf cell therapy in a pair of phase 1/2 clinical trials involving patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE), the most common form of focal epilepsy, where seizures begin in a specific, localised area of the brain. Focal epilepsy accounts for around a third of all epilepsy cases.

NRTX-1001 is a one-shot treatment delivered into the temporal lobe of the cerebrum, based on non-dividing 'interneuron' cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells, that release the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, thereby calming neuronal excitability and preventing overexcitation.

Epilepsy is a key therapeutic target for UCB, which sells a range of anticonvulsant medicines for diverse seizure types and age groups, such as Fintepla (fenfluramine). That product was acquired as part of the $1.9 billion takeover of Zogenix in 2022, and an epilepsy therapy – an inhaled formulation of alprazolam – was also the focus of its $270 million acquisition of Engage Therapeutics in 2020.

The Belgian biotech is, meanwhile, also building a position in cell therapies, and last month licensed rights to a CD19/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) for B-cell-driven autoimmune diseases from Antengene in a $1.1 billion deal. With Neurona, it builds on that expertise with a platform technology that cuts across into its long heritage in central nervous system disorders and offers the potential of "structurally and functionally restoring compromised neural circuitry."

UCB chief executive Jean-Christophe Tellier said buying Neurona "demonstrates our innovation strategy in action and reinforces UCB's commitment to delivering meaningful innovation to people living with epilepsy, particularly forms of epilepsy with high unmet need."

He added: "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."

NRTX-1001 has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation from the FDA for drug‑resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and PRIME (Priority Medicines) designation from the EMA for adults with drug‑resistant focal epilepsy.

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash