AstraZeneca reduces Crestor royalty rates with Shionogi

27th Dec 2013 08:27

Pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca has settled arbitration proceedings with Japanese group Shionogi & Co over the calculation of royalties related to its cholesterol treatment Crestor.As part of the agreement, payments from Astra to Shionogi have been adjusted to reduce the royalty rate in 2014-2015 by a low single-digit number."The new agreement provides greater certainty for each of the parties in terms of the quantum of royalties due under the agreement and the period over which they will be payable," Astra said in a statement on Thursday.The companies also announced that they have extended the global licence agreement for Crestor from 2016 to 2023. This will guarantee a fixed minimum annual royalty to Shionogi from 2014 until 2020 in the low hundreds of millions of dollars while also providing for maximum royalty payments during the period 2016 to 2020 inclusive, the firm said.BC