Norgine increases ProStrakan stake

Dutch company Norgine has raised its stake in ProStrakan to 14 per cent, which could cause Kyowa Hakko Kirin's (KHK) £292m takeover plans to falter.

At the time of writing, shares in ProStrakan stood at 132.38p, above the 130p-a-share bid agreed with the Japanese firm earlier in the week, boosted by the prospect that Norgine could be about to make a higher bid.

In mid-November, ProStrakan refused an offer from Norgine, which purchased a 13.75 per cent stake, because it was said to have undervalued the company. The Dutch company said at the time that it had "no current intention" to mount a full-scale takeover bid.

ProStrakan has a number of products in key global markets including Sancuso (granisetron transdermal), a novel skin patch for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and cancer pain treatment Abstral (fentanyl).