AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) has announced the sale of commercial rights for its Atacand and Atacand Plus drugs for US$400mln.
Atacand is a prescription medicine approved for the treatment of heart failure and hypertension, while Atacand Plus is only for hypertension.
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The buyer is German pharma company Cheplapharm, which will pay US$250mln on completion of the deal and the remainder in the first half of 2021.
In 2019, the two drugs generated sales of US$148mln and profit before tax of US$89mln in the over 70 countries covered by the agreement.
AstraZeneca will continue to manufacture and supply Atacand and AtacandPlus and will continue to commercialise them during a three-year transition period.
The FTSE 100 firm said the divestment will not impact financial guidance for 2020 while the cash received will be recognised as other operating income in the results.