Cipla grants Salix rights for Rifaximin

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drugmaker Cipla Ltd has agreed to grant U.S.-based Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd rights relating to the "Rifaximin complexes" patent family controlled by Cipla, the two companies said on Thursday.

The agreement excludes countries in Asia, other than Japan, and Africa.

Under the agreement, Salix will make an upfront payment and milestone payments to Cipla, the companies said in separate statements.

Salix will also pay a royalty on net sales.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Sunil Nair)