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 AstraZeneca said it would sell rights for its heart failure and
blood pressure medicines Atacand and Atacand Plus to Germany's
Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH.
AstraZeneca, which is among the front-runners in the race to develop
a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, has been trying to focus on its
cancer drug portfolio in a bid to streamline its business.
The agreement with Cheplapharm supports AstraZeneca's strategy of
focusing on newer medicines in main therapy areas, the drugmaker
said.
The London-listed company has been seen as having a head start in
the race for cancer treatments and sales of those medicines,
including blockbuster lung cancer drug Imfinzi, have been key to its
turnaround.
Cheplapharm, which has held the European rights for Atacand and
Atacand Plus since 2018, will now be allowed to sell them in around
70 countries.
Atacand is a prescription drug approved to treat heart failure and
hypertension, while Atacand Plus is used for hypertension.
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The transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will not impact its
2020 financial forecast, AstraZeneca said.
The company said $250 million of the $400 million consideration will be payable
on deal completion, with the remainder in the first half of 2021.
AstraZeneca will manufacture and supply both the medicines and commercialise
them during a three-year transition period, the company said.
Last year, AstraZeneca sold global commercial rights for its drug to treat acid
reflux to Cheplapharm for up to $276 million.
AstraZeneca shares were trading slightly lower at 0907 GMT.
(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
and Jason Neely)
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