First Horizon Buys Blood-Pressure Drug

First Horizon Pharmaceutical Corp. will pay as much as $215 million for U.S. rights to AstraZeneca’s Sular high-blood-pressure drug, which competes with Pfizer Inc.’s Norvasc.

First Horizon will pay $185million initially and an additional $30 million if Sular sales reach goals. First Horizon shares fell $2.90, or 10%, to $26 on Nasdaq.

Sular’s 2001 U.S. sales were $46 million; U.S. sales of Norvasc, the top-selling hypertension treatment, were $1.67 billion.

Roswell, Ga.-based First Horizon has been acquiring medicines from larger companies to expand its drug line.