Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Astellas Pharma Inc., Japan’s second-largest drugmaker, agreed to pay as much as $765 million for global rights to develop and sell an experimental drug for prostate cancer.

Astellas will pay San Francisco, California-based Medivation Inc. $110 million up front and as much as $655 million if the medicine meets development and sales goals, Tokyo-based Astellas said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange today.

The drug, known as MDV3100, is in the last stage of clinical trials generally required for regulatory review, Astellas said. Two companies will share development costs, sales and profits in the U.S. Astellas will pay royalties linked to sales outside of the U.S., the statement said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kanoko Matsuyama in Tokyo at kmatsuyama2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 19:54 EDT