HONG KONG/LONDON — Pfizer has agreed to buy an antibiotics business from AstraZeneca for $725m as well as other payouts, settling for one piece of a company it once tried to acquire.Pfizer will pay $550m to AstraZeneca when the transaction closes and make another payment of $175m in January 2019, according to a joint statement issued on Wednesday.In addition, AstraZeneca is eligible to receive as much as $250m in milestone payments, up to $600m in sales-related payments, as well as certain royalties.New York-based Pfizer has been looking for ways to bolster its pipeline after two failed attempts at a major acquisition, first with AstraZeneca in 2014, then with Allergan earlier in 2016.The US drug maker this week agreed to buy Medivation in a $14bn deal.AstraZeneca, meanwhile, has been shoring up its declining revenue by selling off products that are not central to its business, enabling greater investment in focus areas such as cancer research.The London-based drug maker in June sol...
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