Bristol-Myers selling diabetes stake to AZ

AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) will acquire full ownership of the diabetes business it shares with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY). BMS will receive $2.7 billion up front and is eligible for up to $1.4 billion in regulatory and sales milestones, plus royalties through 2025. BMS reported net sales by the collaboration of $1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2013.

The deal gives AZ full rights to the portfolio of compounds that BMS gained in its 2012 acquisition of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. BMS paid $7 billion for the biotech, with AZ contributing $3.6 billion to include Amylin's compounds in the existing diabetes partnership. The marketed Amylin products-- glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists Byetta exenatide and Bydureon exenatide and synthetic leptin analog Symlin-- had sales of $559 million in the first nine months of 2013. Amylin's metreleptin, a recombinant form of human leptin, is under Priority Review in the U.S. to treat generalized lipodystrophy and in patients with metabolic disorders associated with partial lipodystrophy, with a Feb. 24, 2014, PDUFA date (see BioCentury, July 9, 2012). ...