Codeine switch ups Maxigesic

AFT Pharmaceuticals says it is expecting significant sales growth of its flagship product Maxigesic in Australia as a result of the Feb 2018 rescheduling of products containing codeine to prescription only.

Consumer market research has indicated to AFT that nearly half (40-47%) of codeine patients will switch to an OTC alternative analgesic, with the potential switch volume estimated to be 284 to 333 million tablets.

The company yesterday reported its results for the six months to 30 Sep, with operating revenues of $36.6m, up 23% over the previous corresponding six month period.

The operating result improved by $1.7 million but was still a $6.7 million loss for the period.

Maxigesic is now being sold in 10 countries͗ Australia, Brunei, Israel, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Serbia, Singapore, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.

The company also said that new out-licensing and distribution agreements for Maxigesic oral dose forms had been secured, increasing the number of countries where the product was licensed to 124, up from 110 in Fz2017.

There are now 25 EU countries where the product is registered and the company said it intended to launch additional dose forms there as well as target licensing agreements in North America.