AstraZeneca completes rights sale on Imdur; closes buy from Takeda Pharma

AstraZeneca said it has completed the divestment of the global rights to angina treatment Imdur, outside the US, to China Medical System Holdings Ltd and its associated company, Tibet Rhodiola Pharmaceutical Holding Co.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will receive $19 m for the rights to Imdur.

Imdur is a mature medicine for the prevention of angina in patients with heart disease and achieved global sales outside the US of $57m in 2015. Income from the agreement will be reported as core other operating income.

In a separate announcement, AstraZeneca said it has completed the acquisition of the core respiratory business of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.

The agreement, announced in December 2015, includes the expansion of rights to roflumilast (marketed asDaliresp in the US and Daxas in other countries), the only approved oral PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

AstraZeneca has marketed Daliresp in the US since the acquisition of the rights from Actavis in the first quarter of 2015.