Tobacco giant Philip Morris raises bid for respiratory drugmaker

Tobacco giant Philip Morris has raised its bid to buy respiratory drugmaker Vectura to more than £1bn.

Vectura makes inhaled medicines and devices to treat respiratory illnesses such as asthma, and counts Novartis and GSK among its customers.

The Marlboro cigarette maker increased its offer to £1.65 ($2.29) per share after US private equity firm Carlyle offered £958m ($1.3bn) on Friday.

Vectura has not yet responded to requests for comment on the new bid.