Syntometrine Acquisition

Alliance Pharma PLC
23 October 2006



For immediate release                                            23 October 2006


                              ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC
                      ('Alliance Pharma' or 'the Company')

             Alliance Pharma acquires UK rights to Syntometrine(R)

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the emerging speciality pharmaceutical company,
is pleased to announce that it has acquired the UK marketing rights from
Novartis to Syntometrine(R), a product used in childbirth, for a one-off cash
consideration of £2.0 million.

Alliance Pharma has marketed and distributed Syntometrine(R) in the UK since
1998 under a distribution agreement under which the Company markets a portfolio
of products for Novartis. Going forwards, the distribution agreement will
include ten brands, covering a wide range of medical uses.

Following the acquisition of Syntometrine(R), its manufacture will be
transferred to one of the contract manufacturers used by Alliance Pharma.

Syntometrine(R), which had annual sales to end of September 2006 of £788,000, is
a standard medicine routinely used in childbirth to prevent maternal
haemorrhage.

The product is one of the brands in Alliance Pharma's portfolio of Core Brands,
which have steady and predictable sales. The cash generation from the Core
Brands is used to fund the Company's development projects, which include
Isprelor(TM), a treatment for the induction of labour currently undergoing Phase
III clinical trials.

The Syntometrine(R) acquisition is being financed through the Company's senior
debt facility provided by the Bank of Scotland.

John Dawson, Alliance Pharma's Chief Executive, commented: 'We have marketed
Syntometrine(R)   on behalf of Novartis in the UK since 1998 and are now
delighted to have acquired the UK rights, not least because of the margin
improvement that we should be able to achieve.'

For further information:

Alliance Pharma plc                                        + 44 (0) 1249 466966
John Dawson, Chief Executive
Maddy Scott, Finance Director
www.alliancepharma.co.uk

Buchanan Communications                                   + 44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Mark Court/Lisa Baderoon/Rebecca Dietrich


Notes to editors

About Alliance Pharma

Alliance Pharma, founded in 1996, is an AIM listed emerging speciality
pharmaceutical company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK. The company has a
strong track record of acquiring the rights to established niche brands and
owns, or shares, the rights to 34 branded pharmaceutical products and continues
to explore opportunities to expand the range.

Alliance Pharma's products are prescribed in the treatment of a wide range of
conditions and include brands used in periodontitis (a serious gum disease), the
prevention of heart disease, in Parkinson's disease, in nutrition, in nasal
infections, in the treatment of dermatological conditions and in childbirth.
Alliance Pharma's sales are mainly prescription driven.  Its products are
distributed to hospitals directly and to pharmaceutical wholesalers which
service both hospital and retail pharmacies with their prescription
requirements.

Alliance Pharma is also developing novel products for sleep disorders and the
induction of labour.

Alliance Pharma joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in December
2003 and trades under the symbol APH.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange