AstraZeneca and Sanofi strike a deal over sale of cancer drug

According to AstraZeneca, it has yielded a deal with a unit of competitor French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. As per reports, the deal has been signed for the sale of cancer drug named Caprelsa for $300 million.

The drug is used for treatment of thyroid cancer. At present, the medicine is available in 28 countries and last year, it had sales of $48 million.

It is expected that the sale will complete in the second half of this year and it has no effect on AstraZeneca’s earnings guidance of this year. Sanofi said that it will acquire Caprelsa from AstraZeneca to increase its rare disease drug offerings.

Genzyme unit of the French drugmaker will be paying AstraZeneca $165 million to buy the global rights for selling and further developing Caprelsa. It is also looking forward to additional development and sales milestone payments of as much as $135 million.

According to David Meeker, Genzyme’s president and chief executive, “The addition of Caprelsa represents a strong strategic fit for our rare endocrinology portfolio and underscores Genzyme’s commitment to addressing unmet needs in the thyroid community”. The transaction excludes the transfer of any AstraZeneca facilities or employees.