AstraZeneca nabs Actavis U.S. respiratory brands for $600M

LONDON—AstraZeneca has announced a definitive agreement with Actavis Plc by which it will acquire the rights to Actavis' branded respiratory business in the United States and Canada for an initial consideration of $600 million on completion as well as low single-digit royalties above a set revenue threshold. AstraZeneca will also pay Actavis an additional $100 million, and the latter has agreed to several contractual consents and approvals, including amendments to the two companies' ongoing collaborations.

The transaction is subject to antitrust law clearance and other customary terms and conditions, and is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

“This divestiture will permit Actavis to sharpen our strategic focus and sales and marketing activities on our larger, core therapeutic categories in CNS, Women’s Health, Urology, GI, Anti-infectives and Cardiovascular, as well as in Dermatology/Aesthetics and Ophthalmology, which will be added to our global brand portfolio following the completion of the Allergan acquisition later this year,” Brent Saunders, president and CEO of Actavis, said in a press release. “It will also enhance our options in the near term to invest in further expansion through business development or accelerate debt repayment. The decision to divest these brand respiratory products will have no impact on our commitment to investing in and developing our generic respiratory product line.”

Under this agreement, AstraZeneca will gain the development and commercial rights in the United States and Canada to Tudorza Pressair (aclidinium bromide inhalation powder), a twice-daily long-acting muscarinic antagonist for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and Daliresp (roflumilast), the only once-daily oral PDE4 inhibitor currently on the market for COPD. The company will also own the development rights in the United States and Canada for LAS40464, the combination of a fixed dose of aclidinium with formoterol long-acting beta agonist in a dry powder inhaler, which is approved in the EU under the brand name Duaklir Genuair. In 2014, Tudorza Pressair and Daliresp saw combined annual sales in the United States of approximately $230 million.

“Our agreement with Actavis builds on our acquisition of Almirall’s respiratory portfolio and brings long-term value to one of our key growth platforms. With the addition of Tudorza and Daliresp, we will benefit from an immediate boost to revenue in our biggest market, further strengthening our growing respiratory franchise. This combined portfolio helps us to offer an even broader range of innovative treatments and formulations to physicians and pulmonary specialists for patients suffering with COPD,” commented Paul Hudson, president of AstraZeneca US and executive vice president, North America, AstraZeneca.

SOURCE: AstraZeneca press release