AstraZeneca offloads former crown jewel Crestor as it continues to refocus on oncology drugs

This is the way Crestor ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

AstraZeneca is selling off European rights for the once mighty megablockbuster to the German firm Grünenthal for $320 million upfront, the Big Pharma said Tuesday, as it bids farewell to one of its former revenue drivers. The price paid is a far cry from peak sales in 2011 of more than $6.6 billion and $5 billion in sales as recently as 2015.