Celltech - Cell Tech

Celltech Group plc was a leading British-based biotechnology business based in Slough. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

The Company was founded by Gerard Fairtlough in 1980 with finance from the National Enterprise Board.

In 1999 the Company led consolidation in the UK biosciences market merging with Chiroscience plc and then buying Medeva plc. Then in 2000 it bought Cistron, a US biosciences business. It expanded into Germany in 2001 buying Thiemann, a German biosciences business, and went on to buy Oxford Glycosciences in July 2003 for £102m. Celltech was acquired by UCB, a Belgian drugmaker, in 2004. Since then it has been known as UCB Celltech.

Operations

The Company was engaged in research and development of therapies for patients with serious diseases. Products included:

• Tussionex for coughs
• Zaroxolyn for resistant edema
• Methylphenidate for ADHD
• Amphetamine for ADHD and narcolepsy, as 5 mg Dexedrine tablets
• Semprex-D, an antihistamine and decongestant