Chiesi to buy Kalvista, developer of HAE treatment Ekterly
$1.9B acquisition adds to Chiesi’s portfolio of rare disease treatments
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Chiesi has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kalvista Pharmaceuticals, and with it, Ekterly (sebetralstat), an oral on‑demand treatment for acute swelling attacks in people with hereditary angioedema (HAE).
The transaction was approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions. Chiesi will pay $27 per share in cash, or a total of about $1.9 billion, to acquire Kalvista.
“In HAE, patients continue to face significant unmet needs, and Kalvista’s innovation meaningfully expands our presence in rare immunology by adding a differentiated, on-demand treatment option that can bring meaningful advancement in how the disease can be managed,” Giacomo Chiesi, executive vice president of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, the group’s business unit focused on therapies for rare and ultra‑rare conditions, said in a company press release.
Expanding treatment access
“With Chiesi’s global infrastructure, commercial capabilities and long-term commitment to rare diseases, we are confident in their ability to help expand access to sebetralstat for people living with HAE around the world,” said Ben Palleiko, Kalvista’s CEO.
HAE is caused by genetic mutations that lead to excessive production of bradykinin, a molecule that widens blood vessels and increases their permeability. This results in fluid leaking into the deeper layers of skin or mucus membranes, triggering the swelling episodes that characterize HAE.
Ekterly works by blocking kallikrein, an enzyme involved in bradykinin production, reducing bradykinin levels and easing HAE symptoms during an attack. The treatment is approved to treat HAE attacks in patients aged 12 and older in the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, and other regions, with several more regulatory applications under review.
The approvals were based on results from the Phase 3 KONFIDENT trial (NCT05259917), which demonstrated that the treatment was well tolerated and effective, with most people experiencing symptom relief within two hours, and a single dose sufficient to alleviate or resolve most HAE acute attacks.
Recent results from the Phase 3 KONFIDENT-KID trial (NCT06467084), which is evaluating the use of Ekterly in children aged 2 to 11, suggest that the treatment is safe and effective in young children, who currently rely on injectable therapies.
Plans for the treatment’s further development include a U.S. regulatory filing this year to expand Ekterly’s use to children aged 2–11, and additional filings in other regions.
“This acquisition supports our strategy to accelerate impact in rare diseases by bringing together science, innovation and expertise to address areas of highest unmet need,” said Jean-Marc Bellemin, Chiesi Group’s chief financial officer and interim group CEO. “Kalvista’s proven drug discovery and development capabilities, combined with our global footprint and operational excellence, will enable us to deliver innovation to patients at greater scale.”
