AstraZeneca licenses Zurampic rights to Grunenthal

AstraZeneca has licensed the rights to its drug Zurampic to fellow pharmaceutical company Grunenthal in Europe and Latin America.

The deal will see Grunenthal gain exclusive rights to Zurampic across the EU and in all Latin-American countries, as well as rights to an investigational fixed-dose combination of Zurampic and allopurinol in these same markets.

Zurampic was approved in Europe earlier this year for use in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor for the adjunctive treatment of hyperuricemia in adult patients with uncontrolled gout.

Grunenthal will pay AstraZeneca up to $230 million (159.42 million pounds) in sales and other related milestones over the lifetime of the contract, in addition to royalties. The company will also be responsible for submitting the fixed-dose combination programme for regulatory review.

AstraZeneca will initially manufacture and supply Zurampic to Grunenthal and will undertake European post-approval commitment on Grunenthal's behalf.

Luke Miels, executive vice-president for global product and portfolio strategy at AstraZeneca, said: "Grunenthal has an established presence across European and Latin American markets and extensive expertise in inflammatory diseases. This agreement allows us to further focus our resources on our strategic priorities."