Abbott acquires Trandolapril from Aventis

Abbott Laboratories and Aventis have reached an agreement for Abbott to acquire the remaining commercial rights for the cardiovascular agents trandolapril and the trandolapril/verapamil combination, except in Japan, and the global manufacturing rights for trandolapril and the trandolapril/verapamil combination.

Under the terms of the agreement, Aventis will receive an upfront payment as well as milestone payments, totaling US$300m. Additionally, Aventis will receive royalties on future sales.

Under the existing licensing agreement with Aventis, Abbott has exclusive marketing rights to trandolapril in certain markets including the United States, and shares marketing rights with Aventis in certain other international markets. Aventis currently manufactures trandolapril for both Abbott and Aventis. Trandolapril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, is marketed by Abbott under the trademarks of Mavik and Gopten, and by Aventis under the trademark Odrik. Trandolapril is also marketed by Abbott as a fixed-combination product with verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, under the trademark of Tarka, and by Aventis under the trademark Ocadrik. Abbott will continue to market trandolapril under these trademarks.

Aventis will continue to manufacture trandolapril for Abbott during a transition period until the transfer of the trandolapril manufacturing technology to Abbott has been completed. 'This agreement demonstrates Abbott's commitment to further strengthen and build our global brands,' said Dr Jeffrey Leiden, president and chief operating officer, pharmaceutical products group, Abbott Laboratories. 'We believe that trandolapril and the trandolapril/verapamil combination have the potential to be significant global brands and strong contributors to Abbott's pharmaceutical portfolio.'