Jazz Pharmaceuticals is acquiring Actio Biosciences for $820 million up front, deepening its bet on epilepsy with a drug for a rare genetic form that currently has no approved treatment.
Announced August 10, 2026, the deal also includes up to $500 million in milestone payments. The prize is ABS-1230, a once-daily oral small molecule that inhibits the KCNT1 ion channel. Mutations in KCNT1 cause a severe genetic epilepsy in which patients — roughly 2,500 in the U.S. — can suffer dozens to hundreds of seizures a day, with onset from infancy to adulthood.
Where it stands
ABS-1230 is in a Phase 1b/2a trial that, Jazz says, could serve as the registrational study for FDA approval — a fast path for a disease with such high unmet need. Jazz CEO Renee Gala called the drug’s profile “highly encouraging.”
A pattern for Jazz
This is Jazz’s second epilepsy acquisition in the past year, following a $935 million deal for Chimerix, and builds on its success with Epidiolex, which has crossed $1 billion in annual sales. San Diego-based Actio was founded only in 2023 and had raised about $121 million across two venture rounds, with backers including Regeneron Ventures and Deerfield. For Jazz, it’s a targeted push into rare genetic epilepsies where a single well-aimed drug can define the market.