Benzinga | Jun 22, 2021 12:48PM EDT

UniQure Expands Gene Therapies Pipeline For Neurological Disorders With Corlieve Acquisition

* UniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) has agreed to acquire Corlieve Therapeutics and its lead program for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of focal epilepsy.

* The company will pay (euro)46.3 million in an upfront cash payment.

* Corlieve shareholders are eligible to receive up to (euro)43.7 million in development milestones through Phase 1/2 and (euro)160 million in milestones associated with Phase 3 development and the approvals of AMT-260.

* Corlieve's lead gene therapy program employs miRNA silencing technology to target suppression of aberrantly expressed kainate receptors in the hippocampus of patients with TLE.

* Upon closing the transaction, Richard Porter, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Corlieve, will assume the role at UniQure of General Manager of the Corlieve subsidiary.

* UniQure held $260.81 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31, 2021.

* Price Action: QURE shares are down 5.6% at $31 during the market trading session on the last check Tuesday.