UCB moved to expand its epilepsy pipeline with an $1.15 billion acquisition of Neurona Therapeutics. The transaction includes a $650 million upfront payment and up to $500 million in milestone payments, targeting Neurona’s lead investigational program NRTX-1001 for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. NRTX-1001 is a one-time, pluripotent stem-cell derived therapy engineered to produce GABA, with Phase I/II clinical testing in unilateral and bilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (NCT05135091). Neurona previously earned FDA RMAT designation for the program and received EMA PRIME designation. UCB said bringing NRTX-1001 into its portfolio builds on its innovation strategy for epilepsy, positioning the asset for accelerated development pathways across the US and Europe.