News Article

Italian pharmaceutical group Angelini Pharma has agreed to acquire Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.1bn.

The acquisition marks a pivotal expansion for the privately held European drugmaker, establishing its first direct commercial footprint in the United States while bolstering its central nervous system and rare disease portfolio.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory clearances and shareholder approval.

The acquisition grants Angelini immediate access to a profitable, cash-generative US commercial platform and a robust portfolio of orphan drugs. Catalyst brings three approved medicines to the combined entity, offering a rare financial profile characterised by zero funded debt and consistent double-digit revenue growth.

Firdapse remains the primary revenue driver, serving as the only evidence-based treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. The portfolio also includes Agamree, a novel corticosteroid for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Fycompa, a treatment for partial-onset and primary generalised tonic-clonic seizures.

The transaction suggests there is increasing strategic appetite among European pharmaceutical companies to deploy capital aggressively for de-risked rare disease assets in the United States.