Chester-based biomedical firm IS Pharma has raised £8 million to fund future growth and acquisitions, it has emerged.

Following its takeover of Speciality European Pharma International, the company is looking to make more inroads in the pharmaceutical sector, reports the Liverpool Daily Post.

The £8 million has been raised through the Bank of Scotland, which agreed that this was an "excellent" chance to work with IS Pharma's management team.

Tim Wright, chief executive of IS Pharma, told the paper: "This funding facility will allow us to continue making targeted acquisitions within the broader context of organic growth.

"We are now strongly positioned to drive forward our strategy of creating a significant and increasingly profitable specialist hospital medicines business."

The northwest is home to around 230 biomedical companies - seven of which are multinational - and is the highest exporter of pharmaceuticals in the UK. The sector employs some 25,000 people.