AstraZeneca secures $400 million deal for heart failure treatment commercial rights

Astra's Ruud Dobber, BioPharmaceuticals executive vice president, said: "This agreement forms part of our strategy to carefully manage the mature medicines, enabling reinvestment in our main therapy areas to bring innovative new medicines to patients.”

Cheplapharm will pay an initial $250 million and the remainder in the first half of next year.

Cambridge-based Astra developed Atacand in partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical, with each company having exclusive rights in certain countries. The drugs last year generated sales of $148 million and profits of $89 million in the countries covered by today's agreement.