Forest, Daiichi Sankyo sign agreement for Azor

NEW YORK Forest Laboratories and Daiichi Sankyo have signed a co-promotional agreement for Daiichi Sankyo’s new antihypertension drug Azor. Azor is a combination of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate and the angiotensin receptor blocker olmesartan medoxomil.

Under the agreement, Forest will pay Daiichi Sankyo an upfront payment of $20 million and will receive a payment based upon product sales. The agreement is for three years, after which, Daiichi Sankyo will make residual payments to Forest.

The drug is still under review by the Food and Drug Administration with a decision expected by late September. Hypertension affects roughly 72 million people in the U.S., with about 65 percent of those diagnosed having trouble keeping it under control.