Ashurst and Linklaters have taken the lead roles on a developmen t agreement between drug giant AstraZeneca and UK pharmaceutical company Protheric s worth £195m.

The agreement, for a Protherics drug to treat blood poisoning called CytoFab, includes an initial payment of £16m to Protherics and a £7.5m equity investment by AstraZeneca. Protherics will also receive additional payments for reaching development targets and, if the product is launched, it will receive royalties on global sales.