AstraZeneca To Acquire Takeda’s Respiratory Drug Business

AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire the core respiratory business of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for $575 million. The deal will include the expansion of rights to roflumilast (marketed as Daliresp in the US and Daxas in other countries), an oral PDE4 inhibitor for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

AstraZeneca has marketed Daliresp in the US since the acquisition of the rights from Actavis in the first quarter of 2015. Full acquisition of the global rights will support AstraZeneca's respiratory franchise and complement the company's portfolio of treatments for severe COPD. The agreement will also provide AstraZeneca with access to other marketed respiratory medicines and early pipeline products.

Annual global sales of the three core medicines acquired, excluding any AstraZeneca sales of Daliresp in the US3, were $198 million for the period ending in March 2015. The transaction will be accounted for as a business combination and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. Approximately 200 staff will transfer to AstraZeneca upon completion.

Source: AstraZeneca

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