Beacon Biosignals Announces Multi-Year Expansion of Strategic Collaboration with Takeda to Advance Narcolepsy Diagnosis and Neurobiomarker Discovery

BOSTON, Nov. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beacon Biosignals, a leading neurotechnology company powering AI-driven neurodiagnostics and precision medicines for the brain, today announced a multi-year expansion of its strategic collaboration with Takeda, which began in 2024. This extension leverages the Beacon Platform to accelerate data-driven development of sleep biomarkers and patterns, and supports new diagnostic pathways that close longstanding care gaps for people with narcolepsy. Under the terms of the agreement, Beacon is eligible to receive up to $109 million in data license fees and potential development, regulatory, and commercial-based milestones, including equity participation.

Narcolepsy is a rare neurological disorder that disrupts the brain’s regulation of sleep and wakefulness and is classified into two different types. While Narcolepsy type 2 (NT2) occurs when orexin levels are generally normal, Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is caused by a loss of orexin-producing neurons in the brain, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness, sudden muscle weakness (cataplexy), and disturbed nighttime sleep. Because symptoms overlap with conditions such as sleep apnea and other hypersomnia disorders, NT1 is frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked. As a result, many people living with NT1 endure years of testing and referrals before receiving an accurate diagnosis, and it is estimated that only about half of people living with NT1 in the U.S. are currently identified.

The expanded partnership will utilize Beacon’s at-home neurodiagnostic solution and AI analytics to help address critical barriers in the pathway to narcolepsy diagnosis. Leveraging Waveband™, Beacon’s FDA-cleared at-home EEG headband, and AI-powered algorithms, the collaboration aims to shorten the diagnostic journey for people living with narcolepsy. Takeda will also leverage Beacon’s real-world clinical database to identify sleep biomarkers and generate new insights into brain function with the potential to accelerate discovery, optimize trial design, and expand therapeutic opportunities.

“We look forward to building on our strategic collaboration with Beacon,” said Dr. Tom Koutsavlis, SVP, U.S. Medical at Takeda. “By working with leading companies like Beacon, we aim to help patients and their providers potentially receive faster and more accurate diagnoses.”

“This collaboration demonstrates exactly what the Beacon Platform was purpose-built to do — enable earlier, more accurate diagnosis for patients and identify brain biomarkers that can guide the next generation of CNS drug development,” said Dr. Jacob Donoghue, MD, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Beacon Biosignals.

About Beacon Biosignals

Beacon Biosignals is the leading precision medicine platform bringing large-scale neurophysiology into clinical diagnostics and drug development. Its FDA 510(k)-cleared at-home EEG headband delivers PSG-quality sleep staging across real-world clinical care and Phase 1-4 clinical trials. Advanced AI and machine learning algorithms enable clinicians to diagnose sleep disorders and development teams to measure treatment effects, assess pharmacodynamics, and stratify patients using brain physiology. Beacon is accelerating innovation in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric, neurological, and sleep disorders. Learn more at https://beacon.bio/.

For media inquiries:
Isabella Lazzareschi, isabella.lazzareschi@beacon.bio

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