UCB is proud to be collaborating with Epilepsy Society in the UK to better understand, predict and treat epilepsy

Today marks International Epilepsy Day; an important global event to promote epilepsy awareness around the world.

At UCB, we recognise the significant impact of epilepsy, which is why we focus on improving patient experiences and raising awareness every day.

In a further sign of our epilepsy commitment and leadership, we are very excited to announce a new collaboration with the Epilepsy Society in the UK.

This collaboration will involve a 2.5 million euro investment over 5 years and will focus on generating and analysing individual categories of data that have a role in determining a potential drug response - with an initial focus on the role of genetics.  In the latter phases, the emphasis will move towards integrating different types of data sets and understanding how they act together.  In this way, we hope to build a more complete picture of the drivers of treatment resistance in epilepsy, which will allow the exploration of ways to predict and treat it.

The long-term aim of the collaboration will be to use key insights from the research to design and develop improved, personalised approaches to the management of epilepsy, tailoring it to specific patient needs and genetic characteristics.

Through partnerships like this we’re able to broaden knowledge about how patients respond to medicines. By engaging with patients, listening to their feedback and first-hand experiences, and better understanding how multiple genetic factors could be contributing to their personal symptoms, we’re confident we can make a real difference to the millions of people around the world looking for support in managing their epilepsy.

This project is a great example of our strategic commitment to developing targeted, tailored medicine and will use cutting-edge science and data analysis to address significant unmet need in people with epilepsy who do not respond to currently available medicines.
We’re hugely excited by this new partnership and will be sure to keep the epilepsy community updated as the programme gets underway!