AFT Pharmaceuticals (ASX.AFP) has signed exclusive Maxigesic IVdistribution and supply agreements for the UK and Hong Kong, with the company targeting sales of the medicine in these territories in 2022.
The agreements cover territories with a combined population of more than 73.9 million.
The UK agreement for Maxigesic IV distribution is with the UK based global pharmaceutical company, EDGE Pharmaceuticals and its local UK Joint Venture partner, Kensington Pharma.
The UK market has been identified in independent research to have a number of attractive features with 2.68m cases of surgical post-operative pain in 2020. The same research forecasts the post-operative pain market to grow from US$37m to $122m between 2020 and 2028.
AFT has extended its product range in Hong Kong with the addition of Maxigesic IV to the existing Distribution Agreement with DKSH. After a successful launch of Maxigesictablets, DKSH are well positioned to continue their success with the addition of the IV formulation once product registration in Hong Kong is complete.
AFT Pharmaceutical’s Managing Director Dr Hartley Atkinson said the company has successfully worked with Edge Pharmaceuticals in its local Australasian and Asian hospital markets since 2010,
“Both Kensington Pharma and DKSH specialise in their respective regions with business teams that have an excellent understanding of their local markets.”
Maxigesic IVregulatory approval in the UK is expected to conclude Q4 of 2021, with sales then expected in the early part of 2022 while Hong Kong we expect regulatory approval and sales in the second half of 2022.
Maxigesic IV(Paracetamol 1000mg+ Ibuprofen 300mg solution for infusion) is an intravenous formulation developed as a line extension to Maxigesic tablets, for use post-operatively in hospitals when patients cannot take a medicine orally.
A major Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in the USA found that Maxigesic IV provided significantly better pain relief than either paracetamol (acetaminophen) IV or ibuprofen IV alone in the same doses.
Following on from the registration of Maxigesic IVin Australia and New Zealand in mid-2019, AFT has now licensed the medication in more than 90 countries. Meanwhile, the tablet form of Maxigesic has been licensed in more than 125 countries.