On Thursday, 11 December 2025, at the National Academy of Medicine, Valérie Crépel and Christophe Mulle were awarded the 2025 Galien Prize for their research work on ‘Neural coding and plasticity in epilepsy’.
Annick Tibi, President of the jury, presented them with the award, stating that “their work represents an exemplary trajectory from fundamental research to clinical trials and represents a potentially major advance
in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. Their approach is highly innovative and the initial clinical results obtained are promising, with no
notable adverse effects. It illustrates a successful model of translational research, combining scientific rigour, innovation and industrial application.
Pioneering research conducted by Drs Valérie Crépel and Christophe Mulle has highlighted the potential of kainate receptors as a target for the development of an innovative gene therapy,
AMT-260, designed to combat refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. The initial results of the Phase I/IIa clinical trial show a 92% reduction in seizure frequency
in the first patient treated with AMT-260, with no adverse effects.
The project led to the creation of the start-up Corlieve Therapeutics, which was acquired for €250 million by the Dutch biotech company uniQure. The current clinical trial is being conducted by uniQure.
This success story perfectly illustrates the potential of French fundamental research to be transformed into concrete therapeutic innovation.
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