AZN AstraZeneca PLC

By Tapan Panchal

LONDON--AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) said Monday that it has signed an agreement with a unit of rival French pharmaceutical company Sanofi SA (SAN.FR) for the sale of cancer drug Caprelsa for $300 million.

The U.K.-listed pharmaceutical company entered into a definitive pact with Genzyme to divest Caprelsa, which is used for treating thyroid cancer. The medicine is currently available in 28 countries and had sales of $48 million in 2014.

Under the agreement, Genzyme will pay AstraZeneca an upfront payment of $165 million to acquire the global rights to sell and develop Caprelsa, and further development and sales milestone payments of up to $135 million. The transaction doesn't include the transfer of any AstraZeneca employees or facilities.

The sale is expected to complete in the second half of 2015 and doesn't affect AstraZeneca's 2015 earnings guidance.

Write to Tapan Panchal at tapan.panchal@wsj.com

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