Recordati has picked up the rights to two of AstraZeneca’s hypertension treatments as part of a $300m (€270m) deal.
The agreement sees the Milan-based pharmaceutical group acquire rights to AZ’s Seloken ZOK (metoprolol succinate) and Logimax fixed dose combination (metoprolol succinate and felodipine) treatments in Europe.
Metoprolol is a beta-blocker used mainly for conditions such as hypertension, angina pectoris and heart disorders.
Although both brands have been on the market for more than a decade, they still brought in around €100m last and Recordati is hoping they will help “reinforce its product portfolios in a number of its European subsidiaries, in particular Poland, France and Germany”.
The deal is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, after which AZ will be in-line for some additional royalties on the brands.
Andrea Recordati, vice chairman and CEO of Recordati, said: “We are very pleased with the agreement that we have entered into with AstraZeneca for the rights of their brands of metoprolol in Europe. Existing sales of the metoprolol brands will provide the base to enter new markets and thus complete our European geographical footprint.
“This new significant addition to our portfolio will strengthen our position in the European market and contribute to a further enhancement of our profitability margins.”
The with Recordati is the latest effort in AZ’s slimming drive, which has already seen it divest a number of non-core products to free up cash for its R&D plans.