AstraZeneca and Shionogi extend CRESTOR licence agreement

AstraZeneca and Shionogi have extended the global licence agreement for CRESTOR.

The latter has agreed to continue paying royalties for the cholesterol medication until 2023.

It said this will provide Shionogi with minimum annual payments in the low hundreds of millions of dollars over the next six years. AstraZeneca will also pay maximum royalties between 2016 and 2020. 

"The new agreement provides greater certainty for each of the parties in terms of the quantum of royalties due under the agreement and the period over which they will be payable," an AstraZeneca statement said.

CRESTOR is prescribed to adults who have high cholesterol and works to slow down the build up of plaque in arteries. It achieves this by blocking an enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol.

Earlier this month, AstraZeneca announced it had acquired the global diabetes business of Bristol-Myers Squibb, taking full control of the diabetes research alliance that had existed between the two companies.