AstraZeneca has sharpened its focus on cancer drugs with two new deals as it looks beyond a hit to sales and profits from the launch of cheap copies of its popular stomach acid pill Nexium in the vital U.S. market.
The drugmaker, which saw off a $118 billion bid by Pfizer last year, said on Friday its sales fell by a slightly less-than-expected 6 percent in the first quarter, hurt by Nexium generics and the strong dollar, its reporting currency.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said its new alliance with Celgene would maximize the potential of immune system-boosting drugs in blood cancers and a tie-up with Innate Pharma would further strengthen immuno-oncology.
AstraZeneca will get an upfront payment of $450 million from Celgene, while Innate will receive an initial $250 million from AstraZeneca.