AstraZeneca sells some rights to Nexium, Vimovo to Grunenthal

FILE PHOTO - A man walks past a sign at an AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, central England May 19, 2014.REUTERS/Phil Noble
-
Copyright
Phil Noble(Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca <AZN.L> said it would sell the European rights to acid-reflux medicine Nexium to Grunenthal for an upfront $700 million (546.70 million pounds)and future sales-related payments of up to $90 million as it is not in the company’s targeted therapy areas.
The British company said Grunenthal, a privately owned German company, would also buy the worldwide rights, excluding the United Sates and Japan, to pain-relief drug Vimovo for $115 million plus potential additional payments of up to $17 million.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)