(Adds background, shares)
Oct 30 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc said on Friday it
would sell commercial rights for two of its drugs to a German
pharmaceutical company for $400 million as the British drugmaker
looks to focus on newer medicines in new therapy areas.
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.
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)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
