AstraZeneca sells hypertension drug rights; Ends Allergan deal
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 27 Jan 2020
(Sharecast News) - AstraZeneca said it had agreed to sell the global commercial rights to a range of hypertension treatments to Atnahs Pharma for up to $390m.
The pharma giant said it was divesting the rights to Inderal, Tenormin, Tenoretic, Zestril and Zestoretic as they have lost their patent protection globally.
Atnahs will make an upfront payment of $350m with potential future sales-contingent payments of up to $40 million between 2020 and 2022.
The deal excludes the rights in the US and India, which were previously divested, and in Japan, which will be retained by AstraZeneca, which added that it would continue to manufacture and supply Inderal, Tenormin, Tenoretic, Zestril and Zestoretic to Atnahs during a transition period.
In a second statement, AstraZeneca said it was ending a licensing agreement with Allergan and recovering the global rights to brazikumab, a treatment for Crohn's disease ulcerative colitis currently under trial.
The transaction was expected to complete in the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals associated with AbbVie's proposed acquisition of Allergan and its completion.
Astra's executive vice-president of biopharmaceuticals research & development Mene Pangalos said: "With our expanding presence in immunology, there is an opportunity to address a significant unmet need in inflammatory bowel diseases where the majority of patients are unable to achieve clinical remission with current treatment options.
"This agreement creates an opportunity for us to complete the full development programme and bring this potential new treatment option to patients as quickly as possible."
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