KalVista fetches $27 a share in Chiesi buyout
The rare-disease drug developer recorded $49.1 million in global net revenue for its newly launched therapy in eight months.
The rare-disease drug developer KalVista Pharmaceuticals (KALV) was acquired by Italy’s Chiesi Group for $27.00 a share in cash, closing a deal first announced in the first quarter of 2026. Chiesi assumed ownership of KalVista’s hereditary angioedema therapy EKTERLY (sebetralstat), which had become the company’s sole commercial product.
The quarter marked the first full period under Chiesi’s ownership and the first in which EKTERLY generated meaningful revenue. Global net product revenue reached $49.1 million for the eight months ended December 31, 2025, a period that began with the therapy’s U.S. launch in May 2024. No revenue had been reported in the comparable year-earlier span.
Revenue growth accelerated through the year. EKTERLY sales totaled approximately $49 million for the full 2025 calendar year, up from $35 million in the fourth quarter alone, reflecting sequential adoption gains. Refills overtook initial prescriptions as the primary revenue driver in the fourth quarter, a shift from earlier quarters when new prescriptions dominated.
Adoption metrics continued to improve. Patient start forms in the U.S. rose to 1,702 through February 2026, up from 1,318 through December 2025 and representing nearly 20% of the U.S. patient population, according to the company. Unique prescribers grew to 724 from 580 over the same period.
Commercial expansion proceeded in parallel. EKTERLY secured regulatory approval in seven markets by the end of 2025, adding Australia and Singapore to the list that already included the U.S., U.K., E.U., Switzerland, and Japan. The therapy launched in Germany in October 2025, with initial orders signaling strong early demand. Commercial partnerships now span Japan, Canada, and Latin America.
Operating expenses reflected the shift from clinical development to commercialization. Research and development costs fell to $33.4 million for the eight months ended December 31, 2025, from $52.2 million in the prior-year period, driven by reduced clinical-trial spending. Selling, general, and administrative expenses rose to $124.7 million from $64.9 million over the same span, primarily due to commercialization costs.
Cash and equivalents increased to $300.2 million as of December 31, 2025, from $220.6 million at the end of April 2025, reflecting financing activities and revenue generation. Stockholders’ equity moved from a surplus of $95.4 million to a deficit of $2.7 million over the same period, as operating losses and commercialization investments weighed on the balance sheet.