Forest endures $44M loss to cut ties with Daiichi

Forest Laboratories and Daiichi Sankyo have terminated their co-promotion agreement for Azor, Daiichi’s fixed-dose combination of the two antihypertensive drugs amlodipine and olmesartan medoxomil.

Forest will record a one-time charge of $44.1 million which is composed of a one-time payment to Daiichi Sankyo of $26.6 million related to the agreement termination and $17.5 million related to the unamortized portion of the initial upfront payment, the companies said.

Forest said it has determined that the resources allocated to the Azor co-promotion will be better utilized in providing additional support for Forest’s currently marketed products.

The Azor agreement is the second co-promotion agreement for the New York City-based Forest and the Tokyo-based Daiichi.

A previous agreement signed in 2002 by Forest to co-promote Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) and Benicar HCT (olmesartan medoxomil-hydrochlorothiazide) is currently still in force. The agreement also specified a co-promotion period, which has been extended to end on May 31, and a residual period where Forest will continue to receive income from Benicar and Benicar HCT profits, which does not expire until March 31, 2014.

Around the web

Richard Heller III, MD, RSNA board member and senior VP of policy at Radiology Partners, offers an overview of policies in Congress that are directly impacting imaging.
 

The two companies aim to improve patient access to high-quality MRI scans by combining their artificial intelligence capabilities.

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services.