FEDERAL JOBS PACKAGE $2.4m for new drugs industry
IT WAS touted as Northern Australia’s first pharmaceutical distribution and manufacturing centre spawning an entirely new industry for Cairns.
QRX Group 1’s director and one-third shareholder Leo Maltam says the $5 million project will create 80 full-time jobs during construction and another 20 ongoing positions once operational.
Hi-tech and expensive robotic systems will conduct automated compounding — the preparation of highly specialised drugs such as injections, chemotherapy and eye drops — cutting out the middlemen down south.
But industry insiders have raised serious questions about how QRX came to receive $2.41 million in federal funds.
Mr Twomey, who was chairman of the committee that set up the criteria for the $20m regional jobs package, said he was unaware of any federal police inquiries into the matter until he was contacted by the Cairns Post.
“No one’s ever called me about any of this, no one’s ever spoken to me about any of this, you’re the first person to raise it with me,” he said.
Cairns pharmacist Mario Calanna characterised Mr Twomey as an enigmatic and driven businessman with influence across Australian political circles.
“It’s hard to dislike Trent but he’s got some insatiable energy,” he said.
“When he decides to do something, he just doesn’t care who he runs over, he just does it.”
Mr Calanna raised concerns about QRX gaining federal funds when Mr Twomey’s wife, Georgina, was a one-third shareholder of the company.
Other Pharmacy Guild members were cautious about speaking out, but questioned whether the 20 new jobs described when the Federal Government approved the project would be genuinely new or just reshuffled from existing pharmacies.
It is understood Mr Twomey and his business partners plan to de-brand their pharmacies to be reopened under a unified banner to reduce overheads and fees currently paid to franchises including Terry White and Good Price.
Mr Twomey did not respond when asked about the rebranding plans.
Having an off-site manufacturing centre at their disposal would mean on-site packaging and distribution operations could be reduced at individual pharmacies.
“They would need less people anyway because a machine is actually doing the packaging,” Mr Calanna said.
“One person might be able to do eight or 10 (packets) an hour.
“A machine will do unlimited, basically.
“If you go from Point A to Point B, it’s a new job isn’t it?
“But Point A doesn’t exist anymore.”
Mr Maltam said bookkeeping operations would also be conducted at the new centre.
“The core function of the facility is to bypass the southern pharmaceutical wholesalers and enable local pharmacies to deal directly with domestic and international drug manufacturers,” he said.
“The central distribution of prescription and non-prescription drugs via state-of-the-art robotics will enable greater workflow efficiencies to be passed onto pharmacies and ultimately the patients.”
Mr Maltam said the facility would be established in Cairns, but he was still carrying out due diligence on several potential sites.
“My plans are for construction to start this year with completion next year,” he said.
Mr Maltam was asked on February 22 whether he was QRX’s sole operator, or if there were other backers involved.
“I am the sole operator,” he responded via email.
Subsequent company searches reveal two more shareholders with equal interests in the venture — T&A Walters Investments and Georgina Clare Twomey.
It has also emerged QRX is one-third shareholder in Tropic Group Pty Ltd, the company behind former LNP Member for Cairns Gavin King’s news publication Tropic Now.