Angelini to Buy Catalyst for $4.1 Billion

Rare Daily Staff

Angelini Pharma said it will acquire Catalyst Pharmaceuticals for about $4.1 billion in cash in a move that gives the Italian drugmaker a foothold in the U.S. market and expands its rare-disease and brain-health portfolio.

Under the agreement, Angelini will pay $31.50 per share for all outstanding Catalyst shares. That price represents a 21 percent premium to Catalyst’s unaffected closing price on April 22, 2026, and a 28 percent premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average trading price as of that date. Angelini said the transaction is not subject to a financing condition and will be funded with a combination of cash and debt.

The companies said the deal has been unanimously approved by both boards and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Catalyst is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare and difficult-to-treat diseases. Its current portfolio includes Firdapse, a treatment for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome; Agamree, approved for Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and Fycompa, an antiepileptic drug used for certain seizure disorders. Angelini said Catalyst’s commercial infrastructure and product lineup would strengthen its own strategy in brain health and rare diseases.

For Catalyst, the deal would make it part of a larger international pharmaceutical company with broader financial resources and a wider geographic reach. For Angelini, the deal is more than a product purchase. It is a major strategic expansion. The company, which is part of the Angelini Industries group and is headquartered in Italy, has spent recent years building a broader neuroscience and rare-disease strategy. By buying Catalyst, Angelini gets an established U.S. platform, a marketed portfolio in the American market, and a larger presence in a therapeutic area where it already sees room to grow.

Angelini said the acquisition will help it create a next-generation therapeutic platform in rare diseases by combining Catalyst’s commercial capabilities with its own research, development, and brand strength in brain health. The company also said the deal supports a balanced expansion strategy: growing in North America while continuing to reinforce its business in Europe. Angelini emphasized that its industrial base in Italy will remain an important part of the combined company’s global operations.

“By combining our unique capabilities in rare diseases with Angelini’s proven global reach, we will create a stronger, scalable, and robust rare-disease platform to expand access to life-changing therapies worldwide,” said Catalyst CEO Rich Daly.

The acquisition comes as Catalyst has also resolved separate patent litigation involving Firdapse and a generic challenger. Catalyst said the settlement ends pending U.S. patent disputes over the drug.