Since 2005, BTG has focused on developing drugs targeting areas of neuroscience and oncology, and is building a substantial internal development pipeline financed by royalty revenues from products marketed by licensees. In addition, the company has a number of programmes under development by licensees that will generate future royalty streams.
BTG's origins date back to the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) which was created in 1948 by the UK government to commercialise innovations resulting from publicly funded research. In 1981, the NRDC merged with the National Enterprise Board to create British Technology Group Ltd. Following privatisation in 1992, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1995 as BTG plc.
BTG has commercialised a wide range of technologies from universities and companies around the world. These include interferon, the cephalosporin antibiotics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), cholesterol assay tests, recombinant Factor IX for haemophilia B, the first humanised monoclonal antibody, Campath® and the two-part hip cup.