UCL spinout EpilepsyGTx raises $33 million for new epilepsy treatments

The company’s lead programme, EPY201, could help patients become seizure-free with a single treatment. The gene therapy would be delivered locally to the focus site of the seizures, avoiding many of the complications that come with systemic delivery.

The investment was provided by XGEN Venture, the British Business Bank, and a global biopharmaceutical company. It will support EPY201 through Phase 1/2a clinical trials to establish its safety and efficacy.

EPY201 offers hope to millions living with focal refractory epilepsy by aiming to stop seizures with a single, minimally invasive treatment. In doing so, it will change the way refractory epilepsy has been treated for decades.

For the full story about EpilepsyGTx, please visit UCL News.

How the UCL Translational Research Office helped

The UCL Translational Research Office worked closely with UCL researchers to support this therapeutic innovation journey, shaping early-stage strategies, securing critical funding, and navigating regulatory pathways. These concerted efforts have accelerated progress across multiple programmes along the translational pathway.

Dr Pamela Tranter, Head of Translational Research Group at the TRO, said, “This milestone underscores UCL's world-class ecosystem for research, innovation, and lab-to-market success. We are pleased to continue working alongside UCL researchers to nurture impactful therapeutic innovations like this.”

Links

• EpilepsyGTx
• UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
• UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences
• UCL Faculty of Life Sciences
• UCL Biosciences
• Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology
• UCLB

Image

• Credit: EpilepsyGTX

• From Left:
  Stephanie Schorge, Sophia Jex-Blake Professor of Physiology and Head of the UCL Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology
  Dimitri Kullmann, Professor of Neurology, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, and Chief Scientific Officer and Scientific Founder of EpilepsyGT
  Matthew Walker, Professor of Neurology, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
  Gabriele Lignani, Professor of Translational Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology 

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