Read the Conversation
Meeting highlights:
- Driving Transformation and Innovation at Angelini Pharma: Jacopo joined Angelini Pharma to lead its transformation, bringing decades of global experience to scale innovation. His mission includes focusing the business more sharply on R&D and BD&L, especially in CNS (central nervous system), while maintaining its heritage and broad-based health portfolio.
- Strategic Expansion in Europe and the U.S.: Angelini Pharma aims to consolidate its European presence through a transformational deal, including in key markets like the UK, France, and Germany. A U.S. market entry with innovative CNS assets is also a strategic priority.
- Shaping the Brain Health Ecosystem: Beyond developing treatments, Angelini Pharma actively shapes the ecosystem around brain health. Through partnerships with think tanks like TEHA and academic institutions, the company drives awareness, policy engagement, and data-backed advocacy (e.g., via the Headway report showing a €5 return for every €1 invested in mental health).
- Italy as a Strategic Core: Italy remains Angelini Pharma’s largest market and a crucial hub for R&D and manufacturing. The company’s facilities in Ancona, Rome, and other cities continue to drive pharmaceutical innovation, including the production of key treatments for the domestic and international markets.
- Humanizing Healthcare Through Engagement: Angelini Pharma fosters empathy and understanding by connecting employees with patients and caregivers through storytelling, testimonials, and even theatrical performances. This raises awareness and reduces stigma around mental health, epilepsy, and other conditions within its organization and beyond.
EF: What mission did you set for yourself when appointed?
JA: After spending almost 30 years in global pharmaceutical companies based mostly outside of Italy, this position represented a significant shift.
First and foremost, it was my first CEO role, which was exciting. It was even more compelling to step into a leadership position at a company with a strong legacy. Angelini has been around for over a century. The combination of tradition and innovation, and the opportunity to lead a transformation that had already begun before my arrival, was very motivating. My role is to take that transformation to the next level.
There was also a personal element. After spending 15 consecutive years abroad, primarily in the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, I felt a strong purpose in returning to contribute to my home country. It was about giving back and helping an Italian company evolve by applying the experience I had gained in multinational environments.
Part of that transformation involves shifting from a broad-based business, which includes specialty/primary care, consumer health, and brain health, to a model with a stronger focus on innovation in our portfolio. All business areas remain important, the future we are building is increasingly driven by research and development as well as business development while keeping a strong focus on excellence in commercial execution. This is a direction that appeals to me and is aligned with my strengths and experiences.
EF: What can we expect from Angelini Pharma this year?
JA: Our priorities have largely remained consistent in the past two years. We are currently focused on a few key areas. One of the most important is pursuing a transformational deal. This has been a shared ambition between our shareholders and me. As you may know, the company is now under the leadership of the fourth generation of the founding family. Over our 100-year history, each generation has brought an evolution in direction. Today, the family remains highly ambitious, and since pharmaceuticals represent the largest part of our multi-industry business, that ambition is clearly reflected in our pharma company.
A transformational deal would allow us to gain the critical mass we target, particularly in Europe, where we still need to consolidate our footprint. We operate in just over 20 European countries under the Angelini Pharma name. Our products are marketed in over 70 countries, including through strategic alliances with leading international partners.
The idea is to strengthen our position in Europe through a transformational deal. This could be a merger or acquisition that would give us a broader scale, especially in countries where we are still over-reliant on a single product. This includes key markets like the United Kingdom and France, which were only recently added to our portfolio following the acquisition of Arvelle in 2021.
A second major objective of a transformational deal would be entry into the United States market. We currently have a small commercial operation in the US as well as a manufacturing site that produces consumer healthcare devices, but there is an opportunity to align our US presence more with the CNS portfolio we are increasingly focusing on globally. We intend to shift toward a more innovative portfolio in the US, ideally within the CNS space, although we are also open to other therapeutic areas. This is an important strategic direction we are actively exploring.
In parallel, and independent of any transformational deal, we are also working to strengthen our CNS portfolio in Europe. This includes smaller deals, such as early-stage pipeline assets, similar to what we have done over the last few years. We continue to focus on licensing opportunities for European or broader rights to CNS assets that will further enhance and complement our existing portfolio.
EF: Could you share some insights into your work to raise awareness and influence policy to support brain health more broadly?
JA: We see ourselves as having an institutional role, not only in discovering, developing, and commercializing pharmaceuticals, which remains the core of our work in the CNS space but also in helping to strengthen the broader ecosystem that supports individuals living with neurological and psychiatric disorders.
To do that, we engage with the full spectrum of stakeholders. This includes healthcare professionals, such as those who participated in a recent meeting we held in Madrid. That meeting focused on epilepsy and involved specialists discussing clinical data and identifying realistic treatment goals. In addition to clinicians, we also work closely with patient advocacy groups and, importantly, with policymakers who are in a position to implement meaningful changes that can improve access to care and the overall quality of life for patients.
A key initiative in this area is our ongoing partnership with the think tank The European House Ambrosetti, which is dedicated to advancing discussions around brain health services and management across Europe. As part of our joint Headway program, we have published several reports that assess how well European health systems are responding to the needs of people with mental health conditions and initiated important conversations with policymakers, physicians, and patients to advocate for much-needed improvements. While the original focus was on psychiatric disorders, we are now expanding the scope to include brain health more broadly. This is because psychiatric and neurological disorders often coexist in the same patients and, in many cases, share similar molecular mechanisms. We believe that a more integrated view—framing the discussion regarding brain health rather than separating psychiatry and neurology—is essential to achieving a truly patient-centred approach.
The Headway findings have been presented to the European Parliament and national parliaments in countries such as Italy, Spain, and the Nordics. These presentations aim to raise policymakers' awareness of the unmet needs and opportunities in brain health.
For example, the most recent edition of the report went beyond highlighting the burden of disease and began exploring the return on investment from enhanced mental health services. We collaborated with a professor from Oxford University to quantify the direct and indirect benefits of investing in mental health. These include reduced hospitalizations, decreased use of medication, and overall cost savings, as well as improved productivity when individuals can return to work or education. Many people living with mental health conditions are of school age or working age, so the potential societal gains are significant.
The analysis showed that the return is approximately five euros for every euro invested in mental health. We are committed to continuing to generate meaningful data and arguments that resonate with governments, policymakers, patient groups, and other stakeholders. This forms a central part of our work in shaping policy and building support for brain health across Europe.
EF: How significant does Italy remain for Angelini Pharma?
JA: Italy continues to be a critical market for Angelini, not only from a commercial perspective, where it remains our largest business but also as a strategic hub for innovation and manufacturing.
Most of our R&D organization is based in Italy, with key locations in Rome and Ancona. Additionally, our chemical plant in Aprilia, just south of Rome, plays a central role. It houses both manufacturing capabilities for active pharmaceutical ingredients and a team of chemists supporting our research and development efforts.
Ancona holds particular significance, both symbolically and operationally. It is where the company was originally founded, and today, it hosts our largest pharmaceutical manufacturing site. That facility has become increasingly strategic. For example, starting in September, it will begin production of cenobamate tablets—our lead product in epilepsy—following our 2021 acquisition of the European rights through the Arvelle deal. We have since signed a manufacturing agreement with SK Biopharmaceuticals, the original developer of the molecule, to produce tablets for international markets at our Ancona site. This may potentially expand further in the future.
Ancona also houses part of our R&D team, with additional teams based in Rome, while medical and regulatory affairs teams within the R&D organization are also present in our international locations. These sites form a comprehensive Italian innovation and production ecosystem vital to our operations.
Beyond the business and strategic aspects, the Italian footprint reflects our commitment to the community. These facilities employ many Italian families, and social contribution remains a core value for our leadership team and the founding family. As the founder once stated, generating prosperity must go hand in hand with sharing that prosperity with the surrounding community. That philosophy has guided us for over 100 years since the company’s inception.
EF: How is Angelini adding value for patients, both by improving their journey and raising awareness and education?
JA: We bring value by facilitating direct interaction and communication between patients and our team. For example, we have had patients visit our headquarters and other sites, where they have shared moving testimonials about their journeys. This has included stories from patients with epilepsy and other mental health conditions. Every patient visit is a crucial reminder to our team why we do what we do every day and how our work can contribute to improvements in people’s lives.
We also support creative initiatives for the patient community. One memorable example was a psychiatric patient association that performed a theater piece to raise awareness about spectrum conditions. It was a raw, realistic portrayal, with no sugar-coating, which profoundly impacted those who attended. These experiences help open the minds of our employees, particularly those who do not interact with patients daily, such as those in supporting functions or manufacturing. It helps them better understand the challenges these patients and families face.
Additionally, we have brought caregivers, such as parents and other family members who support individuals with mental health conditions, to share their personal stories. Many of these caregivers were Angelini employees, courageously sharing their experiences. These stories have tremendously impacted our team, increasing awareness, reducing stigma, and enhancing disease understanding. As a pharmaceutical company, it is a way for us to contribute meaningfully beyond just providing medication, and it emphasizes the purpose of our daily work.
