The Northern Ireland pharmaceutical group Galen Holdings has spent £19.8 million sterling (almost £24 million) on the product range and development pipeline of the British group Bartholomew Rhodes.

According to Galen, which is chaired by Dr Allan McClay, the acquisition will strengthen the group's British business in line with a strategy of marketing brands based on drug delivery technology. The rights to the products were acquired through the purchase of the companies in which the licences were held, the net assets of which total £1.2 million sterling.

The portfolio of Bartholomew Rhodes products includes a range of controlled release cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory products, as well as nebuliser solutions, which will be integrated into Galen's British sales and marketing infrastructure.

This is Galen's biggest acquisition since its merger with the Dutch group Ferring collapsed late last year, after stock markets slumped in the wake of the economic crisis in the Far East.

Since then, Galen has announced a £21.5 million sterling investment in its pharmaceutical headquarters in Craigavon and has also bought an American clinical trials group, Interactive Clinical Technologies.

Last month, Galen reported strong growth in the half-year to the end of March with pre-tax profits up 26 per cent to £9.5 million sterling on sales of £31 million. At the time, Galen's chief executive Mr John King said the group remained open to the possibility of a merger that would raise its international profile. "Although we would see as very attractive some form of merger with an organisation that would give us a more international presence, we won't be pushed into it until the right merger was in place," Mr King said, adding: "It would have to be a merger that would not be disruptive to our core business."