Abraxis BioScience Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC said Tuesday they will end or change their co-promotion partnership on U.S. sales of the breast cancer treatment Abraxane.

Los Angeles-based Abraxis’ board will vote in early January whether to pay $268 million to end the deal and reacquire exclusive marketing rights for the drug or pay AstraZeneca a higher commission, the companies said.

The Swedish drugmaker in 2006 paid $200 million for the rights to market Abraxane in the United States, with the expectation of significant sales. The drug brought in a $62 million commission for AstraZeneca in 2007. The drug had worldwide sales of nearly $325 million that year.

If the Abraxis board approves termination of the agreement, the company will pay AstraZeneca a $268 million fee. If the board does not end the deal, Abraxis would start paying AstraZeneca a sales commission of 50 percent, up from 22 percent under the current agreement.

Abraxis Chief Executive Patrick Soon-Shiong ending the deal would make sense at this time.

“We believe the time has come to further build our commercialization platform for Abraxane in the U.S.,” Soon-Shiong said in a statement. “We have gained much in our collaboration with AstraZeneca and they have done a commendable job in building market share.”

Abraxis shares were up 98 cents, or 2 percent, to $51.70 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.