AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) has sold the global rights, outside of Japan, to its Zomig treatment for migraines and cluster headaches to Grünenthal.
The German firm will pay AstraZeneca US$200mln upon completion of the deal, and AstraZeneca will also receive up to an additional $102mln in future milestone payments.
Grünenthal will acquire the rights to Zomig in all markets outside Japan, including the US, where the rights were previously licensed to Impax Pharmaceuticals, although Impax will continue to market the drug in the US.
AstraZeneca will continue to manufacture and supply the medicine to Grünenthal during a transition period.
READ: AstraZeneca’s Lynparza breast cancer drug impresses in phase III trial
The FTSE 100-listed firm said the treatment is for an area of medicine outside of its “strategic focus”.
Mark Mallon, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president, Global Product & Portfolio Strategy, said: "Grünenthal is an established partner with expertise in the treatment of pain.
“It is well placed to ensure patients continue to benefit from Zomig, and to extend the commercial potential of the medicine through its dedicated salesforce."
AstraZeneca is currently looking to build a successful oncology franchise, with results keenly awaited for its MYSTIC lung cancer study, while it this week revealed decent success with its OlympiAD breast cancer trial.
At the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago – the world’s largest cancer conference – Astra revealed that its novel cancer drug, Lynparza, boosted the survival prospects of patients with an aggressive form of breast cancer, known as HER2-negative.