FORM 6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of February
2020
Commission
File Number: 001-11960
AstraZeneca PLC
1
Francis Crick Avenue
Cambridge
Biomedical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AA
United
Kingdom
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by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
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to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
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assigned to the Registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
82-_____________
AstraZeneca PLC
INDEX
TO EXHIBITS
1.
AstraZeneca divests
global rights to Movantik
25 February 2020 07:00 GMT
AstraZeneca divests global rights
to Movantik
License to RedHill Biopharma supports AstraZeneca's focus on main
therapy areas
AstraZeneca has agreed to sublicense its global rights
to Movantik (naloxegol), excluding Europe, Canada and
Israel, to RedHill Biopharma (RedHill). Movantik is a peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor
antagonist (PAMORA) indicated for the treatment of opioid-induced
constipation (OIC).
Ruud Dobber, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals Business
Unit, said: "This divestment supports our strategy to realise value
from medicines in our portfolio that are mature or outside our
current scope to enable reinvestment in our main therapy
areas. Movantik is an important established medicine and the
divestment to RedHill will ensure its continued availability for
patients."
As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will continue to manufacture
and supply Movantik to RedHill during a transition period. In
2015, AstraZeneca entered into a co-commercialisation agreement
with Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. for Movantik in the US, which will be transferred to
RedHill.
Financial considerations
RedHill will make an upfront payment of $52.5m to AstraZeneca on
closing and a further non-contingent payment of $15m in 2021.
Income arising from the upfront payment, offset by
a charge for derecognition of the associated
intangible asset, and the future payment will be reported in
AstraZeneca's financial statements within Other Operating Income
& Expense. In 2019, Movantik generated sales of $96m in the
US. The divestment is expected to complete in the first
quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory clearances. Upon completion, the agreement will not
impact the Company's financial guidance for
2020.
Movantik
Movantik is a once-daily
oral PAMORA approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the
treatment of OIC in adult patients with chronic non-cancer
pain. Movantik was licensed from Nektar Therapeutics in
2009. It was developed using Nektar's oral small-molecule polymer
conjugate technology. In 2016, AstraZeneca divested the rights
in Europe to ProStrakan Group (now KKI) and the rights in
Canada and Israel to Knight Therapeutics.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) is a global, science-led
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery,
development and commercialisation of prescription medicines,
primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas -
Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory.
Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries
and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients
worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and
follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.
Media
Relations
|
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Gonzalo
Viña
|
|
+44 203
749 5916
|
Rob
Skelding
|
Oncology
|
+44 203
749 5821
|
Rebecca
Einhorn
|
Oncology
|
+1 301
518 4122
|
Matt
Kent
|
BioPharmaceuticals
|
+44 203
749 5906
|
Angela
Fiorin
|
BioPharmaceuticals
|
+44
1223 344 690
|
Jennifer
Hursit
|
Other
|
+44
203 749 5762
|
Christina Malmberg
Hägerstrand
|
Sweden
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+46 8 552 53 106
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Michele
Meixell
|
US
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+1 302
885 2677
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Investor
Relations
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Thomas
Kudsk Larsen
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+44 203
749 5712
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Henry
Wheeler
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Oncology
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+44 203
749 5797
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Christer
Gruvris
|
BioPharmaceuticals
(Cardiovascular,
Metabolism)
|
+44 203
749 5711
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Nick
Stone
|
BioPharmaceuticals
(Renal) Environmental, Social and Governance
|
+44 203
749 5716
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Josie
Afolabi
|
BioPharmaceuticals
(Respiratory)
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+44 203
749 5631
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Tom
Waldron
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Other
medicines
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+44
7385 033 717
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Craig
Marks
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Finance
Fixed
income
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7881 615 764
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Jennifer
Kretzmann
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Corporate
access
Retail
investors
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749 5824
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US
toll-free
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+1 866
381 72 77
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Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
25 February
2020
|
By: /s/
Adrian Kemp
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Name:
Adrian Kemp
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|
Title:
Company Secretary
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