Protherics shares soar on $338M licensing pact

Shares of the UK's Protherics soared in overnight trading after AstraZeneca announced that it would license its experimental anti-sepsis therapy in a deal valued at up to $338 million. CytoFab is being readied for a Phase III trial which is expected to get underway in 2007. Analysts were impressed by the size of the upfront payment (₤16.3 million) and AstraZeneca's decision to make a ₤7.5 million equity investment in Protherics.

"Our goal is to make CytoFab the standard of care for patients with sepsis, improving their chances of recovery and reducing their length of stay in intensive care," said Dr. John Patterson, executive director of development, AstraZeneca. "We hope it will provide clinicians with a new means of addressing this devastating condition and ultimately, help save lives."

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