Two-year deal sees the College collaborate with UCB to identify disease-modifying targets in epilepsy

Two-year research collaboration with UCB will see resources and expertise combined, with the objective of identifying master genetic regulators of brain networks underlying epileptic activity.

The objective of the deal is to identify master genetic regulators of brain networks underlying epileptic activity which can lead to the discovery of novel drug targets. This is the first time that some of the cutting edge technologies, such as RNA sequencing and genome-wide approaches, will be applied in translational epilepsy research.

Commenting on the partnership Dr Michael Johnson, Consultant and Honorary Reader in Neurology at Imperial College London and his colleague Dr Enrico Petretto, Senior Lecturer in Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London, said:

“Up to 30% of people with epilepsy do not respond to currently available treatments and still have uncontrolled seizures, and this situation has remained largely unchanged despite several new drugs in the past 20 years. Therefore, a new approach to drug development in epilepsy is required. The aim of our partnership with UCB is to use state of the art genomic approaches to identify causal molecular pathways for epilepsy and ultimately identify and validate new drug targets to modify these pathways.”