UCB, the Brussels-listed biopharmaceutical company, said on April 17, 2026 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Neurona Therapeutics, a privately held developer of cell therapies for epilepsy. UCB will pay $650 million upfront and up to $500 million more in potential milestone payments, for a total value of up to $1.15 billion.
The deal is subject to antitrust clearance and other customary conditions, and UCB expected it to close by the end of the second quarter of 2026. It brings Neurona's lead candidate, NRTX-1001, into UCB's epilepsy portfolio.
UCB said its 2026 revenue guidance was unchanged after the deal, while its forecast for growth in adjusted EBITDA, a measure of underlying profitability, was now a high single-digit to mid-teens percentage at constant exchange rates.
What Neurona built
Neurona uses pluripotent stem cell technology to make nerve cells intended to repair damaged neural circuits. NRTX-1001 consists of cells that produce GABA, the brain's main inhibitory neurotransmitter. It is given once, as a minimally invasive injection directly into the brain, with the aim of calming the overactive networks that cause seizures.
The therapy is being tested in phase I/II trials in people with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, on one or both sides of the brain. Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common type of focal epilepsy, and it can affect memory, emotion, behaviour and daily functioning, UCB said.
When Neurona raised money in April 2025, it reported that the five patients in its low-dose cohort had a median 92% reduction in disabling seizures seven to twelve months after treatment, and that no cognitive impairments or therapy-related adverse events had been seen. NRTX-1001 has Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration and PRIME designation from the European Medicines Agency. It is not approved anywhere.
In the higher-dose cohort, also five patients, Neurona reported a 78% median reduction in disabling seizures at an interim four-to-six-month check. The two earliest low-dose patients, followed for 24 months, continued to report more than 97% fewer seizures. The FDA's advanced therapy designation came in June 2024.
“We are thrilled that UCB, a global leader in epilepsy science, recognizes the promise of our platform and programs.”
Why UCB is buying
UCB has sold epilepsy medicines for more than 30 years. It described the deal as a move into regenerative medicine and advanced therapies, and as a way to offer treatments that go beyond controlling symptoms.
"The proposed acquisition of Neurona Therapeutics 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," said Jean-Christophe Tellier, UCB's chief executive. He added that the company believes the therapy could provide durable, targeted repair of the nervous system after a single dose.
UCB employs more than 9,000 people in about 40 countries and reported revenue of €7.7 billion (roughly $8.7 billion) in 2025.
The founders and the funding
Neurona is based in South San Francisco and is led by co-founder and chief executive Cory R. Nicholas. Nasdaq Private Market lists the company as founded in 2008 and records about $318 million raised across seven rounds, including $120 million in February 2024 and $102 million in April 2025.
The primary participants in the 2025 round were Fidelity Management & Research Company, The Column Group, Soleus Capital, Viking Global Investors and Cormorant Asset Management. Schroders Capital, LYFE Capital, Euclidean Capital, UCB Ventures, Willett Advisors, UC Investments, YK Bioventures, Berkeley Frontier Fund, Ysios Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and Spur Capital Partners also took part. That money was meant to fund EPIC, a planned pivotal phase 3 trial comparing NRTX-1001 with a sham procedure.
EPIC is designed as a single pivotal study to support an application for US approval. Adults with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy are to be randomised two to one, double-blind, to NRTX-1001 or the sham procedure, and patients in the control group can switch to the therapy once the main endpoint has been measured.
UCB was therefore buying a company it had already backed. "We are grateful to UCB for their investment and support these past years," Nicholas said in the deal announcement.
Advisers
Bank of America acted as financial adviser to UCB and Covington & Burling as its legal counsel. Centerview Partners advised Neurona on the financial side, with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as its legal counsel.
