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Addition by subtraction: AstraZeneca continues to slim down

Published: 08:11 03 Dec 2019 GMT

AstraZeneca -

As part of its focus on its core drugs portfolio, AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) is divesting the US and Canadian rights to its anti-psychotic products Seroquel and Seroquel XR in a deal worth up to US$41mln.

The buyer is a company called Cheplapharm, a German speciality pharma business, which is handing over an initial US$35mln, followed by a “sales-contingent” payment of up to US$6mln.

North American revenues from the two versions of the drug, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar, were US$115mln last year.

 “This divestment supports our strategy of reducing the number of mature medicines to enable reinvestment in our main therapy areas,” said Ruud Dobber, vice president of AZ’s biopharmaceuticals unit.

In October, Cheplapharm agreed to buy the European and Russian rights to Seroquel for an upfront US$178mln. Both formulations have lost patent protection.

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