Hogan Lovells, the global law firm, has advised Italian headquartered Recordati S.p.A ("Recordati") on a US$300 million acquisition of commercial rights to three medicines from AstraZeneca.

Recordati has acquired the commercial rights to Seloken/Seloken ZOK (metoprolol tartrate and metoprolol succinate respectively) and associated Logimax fixed-dose combination (metoprolol succinate and felodipine) treatments in Europe. Metoprolol succinate is a beta-blocker for the control of hypertension, angina and heart failure.

Recordati will pay AstraZeneca US$300 million upon completion of the transaction. In addition, royalties for the use of the existing product brands will be due to AstraZeneca for an agreed period.

Recordati is a European specialty pharmaceutical group dedicated to partnering, discovering and developing innovative, value-added products that improve the quality of life and help people to enjoy longer, healthier and more productive lives.

Working hand in hand with Recordati's in-house legal team, led by Daria Ghidoni, General Counsel of Recordati, Hogan Lovells core team consisted of corporate partners Tom Brassington, in London, and Francesco Stella, in Milan, working with counsel Philip Corser and senior associates Helen Kimberley, Martina di Nicola and George Jenkins. The corporate team worked alongside Hogan Lovells anti-trust (Sabrina Borocci), IP (Sahira Khwaja) and regulatory (Elisabethann Wright) practices.

Commenting on the deal, Tom Brassington said: "The transaction was concluded in a very compressed time frame highlighting Hogan Lovells' seamless geographic and industry-sector expertise."

Francesco Stella added: "Our assistance in this deal proves Hogan Lovells ability to accompany top Italian clients in their international growth through strategic M&A moves."