£218m deal creates UK’s biggest biotech business

Runcorn pharmaceutical company Protherics has been bought by rival BTG in a £218m deal that will create the UK's biggest biotech business.

The company says the deal will give the enlarged company a strong base for future expansion. It is expected to be big enough to enter the FTSE-250 index of leading companies

Protherics is focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of specialist hospital products for critical care and cancer treatment. It employs 12 people in research, development and finance roles in Runcorn.

BTG chairman Dr John Brown said: "The merger of Protherics and BTG will create one of the UK's leading biopharmaceutical companies. We will have a valuable portfolio of licensed and marketed products, a pipeline of mid to late stage programmes in clinical development, and the cash resources and development expertise to progress the combined pipeline."

"We believe that the enlarged group will have the critical mass in terms of financial resources, skills and development pipeline, to leverage the full potential of our critical care products that we have the opportunity to sell in the US from 2010 onwards."

Protherics is well-known for its successful anti-venom for rattlesnake bites. US president George Bush is even believed to keep a supply at his family ranch in Texas.