Scotland’s ProStrakan has agreed to buy fellow UK cancer pain specialist Archimedes Pharma for £230 million in cash.

ProStrakan, which is owned by Japan’s Kyowa Hakko Kirin, is acquiring Reading-based Archimedes from Denmark’s Novo Nordisk Foundation. The company, which has a development facility in Nottingham, posted revenues of £41 million last year, up 33%, and its largest product is PecFent, a fentanyl nasal spray for patients who are already receiving maintenance opioid therapy for chronic cancer pain.

ProStrakan said the deal expands its critical mass in four of the largest European markets - the UK, France, Germany and Spain - and in each of these countries Archimedes has sales and marketing infrastructure. The company, which saw revenues rise 20% to £155 million in 2013 and said the transaction brings a strong product portfolio of high-growth brands in oncology and supportive care.

ProStrakan chief executive Tom Stratford said the acquisition “represents a rare opportunity to enhance the scale of our successful European operations”. He added that since joining KHK three years ago, the firm “has grown from strength to strength, culminating in the delivery of a positive profit contribution for the KHK group in 2013”.

Closing of the transaction is subject to antitrust approvals in Germany.