AstraZeneca offloads rights to Nexium and Vimovo

(Sharecast News) - AstraZeneca has completed an agreement to divest the prescription medicine rights to Nexium (esomeprazole) in Europe, as well as the global rights - excluding the US and Japan - to Vimovo (naproxen/esomeprazole), to Grunenthal, it announced on Monday.The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said that under the terms of the agreement, it received payments of $700m for Nexium and $115m for Vimovo from Grunenthal.It said the upfront payments, net of an appropriate derecognition of an intangible asset related to Vimovo, would be reported within 'other operating income and expense' in its financial statements in the fourth quarter of 2018.AstraZeneca said it would continue to commercialise Nexium in all markets outside Europe, where it retained the rights.It would not retain any ownership rights to Vimovo globally."The book value of gross assets subject to the divestments was approximately $99m at 31 December 2017," the AstraZeneca board explained in its statement."In the year to 31 December 2017 the aggregate pre-tax profits attributable to Nexium and Vimovo in the relevant territories were $203m."The consideration will be satisfied in cash and the proceeds used for general corporate purposes."