UCB to buy Neurona Therapeutics for $1.15 billion, boosting epilepsy push

UCB has agreed to buy Neurona Therapeutics for up to $1.15 billion, a deal that gives the Belgian drugmaker a bigger foothold in epilepsy and a sharper push into regenerative medicine. The transaction includes $650 million upfront and as much as $500 million in milestone payments, and UCB said it expected to close the purchase by the end of the second quarter of 2026.

The prize is Neurona’s lead program, NRTX-1001, an investigational GABAergic interneuron cell therapy for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of focal epilepsy. That matters because the science is not aimed at another pill that reduces seizures temporarily. It is trying to replace or repair a broken circuit, which is why the asset has drawn attention from larger drugmakers looking for therapies that could change the course of disease rather than merely manage symptoms.

Neurona’s early clinical data have been the main attraction. In an April 15, 2024 update, the company said 4 of 5 lower-dose patients had more than 50% seizure reduction, 3 of 5 became free from their most disabling focal seizure type, and 2 subjects had sustained seizure reduction of more than 95% for 16 and 21 months after treatment. Neurona also said no neurocognitive impairments had been detected to date, an important marker for a therapy that is delivered directly into the brain.

For UCB, the acquisition also broadens an epilepsy franchise that has long been central to the company. The deal adds a potentially one-time therapy in early testing to a portfolio that has largely relied on small molecules, giving UCB a different kind of shot at a difficult market where durable responses can command premium pricing. The move also reflects a wider trend in biotech, as larger companies look to replenish pipelines with clinical-stage assets that can stand out in crowded therapeutic areas.

UCB was not approaching Neurona as a stranger. Its venture arm and other investors had backed the company before, giving UCB a close look at the science and the development path. Neurona launched on December 1, 2015 with a $23.5 million Series A round led by Column Group, alongside backers including Fidelity Management & Research, UCB Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Neurona also kept pushing its program deeper into the clinic. On June 18, 2025, it said the first patient had been dosed in a Phase 1/2 bilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy study funded by a $14 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grant. ClinicalTrials.gov says the unilateral EPIC study is testing a single image-guided intracerebral administration of NRTX-1001 for safety and seizure-frequency reduction, and the bilateral study was last updated on March 30, 2026. After more than a decade of development, UCB is buying not just a drug candidate but time, expertise and a stake in one of neurology’s most ambitious bets.