Sun Pharma To Sell Cancer Drugs In China; Shares Surge

In a release to the stock exchanges on Wednesday, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd informed that it has entered into a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca UK Ltd (AstraZeneca) to introduce certain novel ready-to-use (RTU) infusion oncology products in China.

"The agreement will help to bring costeffective and quality drugs to patients in China," it said.

"As per the terms of the agreement, Sun Pharma will be responsible for development, regulatory filings and manufacturing the products covered in the agreement while AstraZeneca will exclusively promote and distribute these products in China," it further said.

Shares of Sun Pharma rose close to 4 percent on Wednesday morning to touch a high of Rs 452.90 apiece.

The announcement comes after AstraZeneca said that it will be launching a new fund with China International Capital Corp to invest $1 billion in China's healthcare sector, expanding its investment in the country.

The initial tenure of the agreement between the two companies is 10 years from the first commercial sale of the said products in China.

The agreement will be announced on Wednesday at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Sun Pharma said. CIIE is organised by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.