AstraZeneca today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Genzyme to divest Caprelsa (vandetanib), a rare disease medicine.
Caprelsa was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the US FDA in 2005 and is currently available in 28 countries for the treatment of aggressive and symptomatic medullary thyroid carcinoma, with global product sales of $48 million in 2014.
Under the terms of the agreement, Genzyme will pay AstraZeneca up to $300 million, including an upfront payment of $165 million to acquire the global rights to sell and develop Caprelsa, and further development and sales milestone payments of up to $135 million. The transaction does not include the transfer of any AstraZeneca employees or facilities. As an asset divestment, upfront receipt and any subsequent payments will be reported in Other Operating Income in the Company's financial statements.
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's life sciences experts advised AstraZeneca. They were led by partner Patrick Duxbury, along with partners Ian Piggin and Luke Kempton, principal associates James Barr and Sam Beighton, and senior associates Neil Hendron and Jenny Davies. The team worked closely with AstraZeneca's in-house legal team, led by senior counsel Sapna Dutta.
The divestment transaction is subject to closing conditions, including the receipt of antitrust clearance from the US Federal Trade Commission. The transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2015 and does not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2015.
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's Life Sciences team has completed a number of deals for AstraZeneca. It recently advised AstraZeneca and MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, on its $1.275 billion co-development and commercialization agreement with Innate Pharma SA, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer. It also advised on its collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company to jointly develop and commercialise AZD3293, an oral beta secretase cleaving enzyme (BASE) inhibitor currently in development as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
The Life Sciences team comprises full-service expertise in IP, corporate, competition and EU, regulatory and dispute resolution matters. With a reputation for being "one of the country's leading transactional life sciences practices" (Chambers UK 2015), its clients range from global pharmaceutical companies and leading research and academic bodies, to small private companies and start-up businesses.
On 8 July Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co announced that it will combine with leading Canadian law firm Gowlings, to create Gowling WLG, effective January 2016.
