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 termination and $17.5 million related to the unamortized portion of the initial upfront payment.
Forest has determined that the resources it has allocated to the Azor co-promotion will be better utilized in providing additional support for Forest’s currently marketed products. Beginning July 1, 2008, Daiichi Sankyo will take sole responsibility for the promotion of Azor. The company has both expanded its cardiovascular sales capability in recent years and is adding additional capacity in preparation of the potential launch of its investigational anti-platelet agent.
The Azor agreement is the second co-promotion agreement for the two companies. 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. That agreement specified a co-promotion period, which has been extended to end on May 31, 2008, and a residual period where Forest will continue to receive income from Benicar and Benicar HCT profits, which doesn’t expire until March 31, 2014.