AstraZeneca has entered into an agreement with Luye Pharma Group, Ltd. (Luye Pharma) for the sale and licence of the rights to Seroquel and Seroquel XR in the UK, China and other international markets, including Brazil, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, Argentina, Malaysia and South Africa.

Mark Mallon, Executive Vice President, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy, AstraZeneca, said: “The agreement with Luye Pharma is in line with AstraZeneca’s strategy to focus on three main therapy areas while maximising the value from our legacy medicines like Seroquel.”

Luye Pharma will pay $538m in consideration including $260m immediately following closure of the transaction. In addition, a milestone is payable on the successful transition of certain activities to Luye. AstraZeneca will continue to manufacture and supply Seroquel and Seroquel XR to Luye Pharma during a transition period. The upfront and future payments will be reported as Other Operating Income in the Company’s financial statements.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.In FY 2017, Seroquel generated annual sales of $85m in the markets covered by this agreement, while Seroquel XR generated $63m. The agreement does not change the Company’s financial guidance for FY 2018.

Luye pharma is based in China with offices in the North America, Europe, and Asia. Luye Pharma focuses on developing, producing, marketing and selling innovative pharmaceutical products in four of the largest and fastest growing therapeutic areas — oncology, cardiovascular, metabolism and the central nervous system. The company has a portfolio of over 30 products.