AFT Pharmaceuticals has taken another major step in extending its international footprint, with the signing of an exclusive license agreement for Maxigesic IV in China, the second-largest pharma market globally after the US. The agreement has been signed with Xizang Weixinkang Pharmaceutical, a major hospitals injectables focused company, and includes an upfront payment of US$300k along with development and sales-related milestones and royalty payments. Partner Hyloris Pharmaceuticals is entitled to a minority share of the payment, which we believe will be 35%, in line with the deal structure with Hikma in the US. China is a key lever for AFT’s international growth efforts, and we expect Maxigesic IV to be AFT’s second product to be launched in the country, following the anticipated launch of Crystaderm in Q4 CY24.

AFT Pharmaceuticals (NZX: AFT) is a commercial-stage specialty pharma company with strong roots in Australasia, its own salesforce and a growing global presence through licensing and distribution agreements. The product portfolio is a mix of own-branded, generic and in-licensed products across various therapeutic areas, targeting the over-the-counter, hospital and prescription segments. AFT is profitable and dividend distributing, with NZ$200m in revenues expected to be achieved in CY24 and a rolling target of NZ$300m. The company’s product portfolio includes over 150 products, with category leading positions in the eye care, allergy and pain-relief segments in its domestic market. The impetus in recent years has been on growing its international footprint, spearheaded by its Maxigesic range of products, a proprietary mix of paracetamol and ibuprofen available in different dose forms, which contributes upwards of 20% of AFT’s revenues. Currently sold in over 70 countries, the plan is to reach 100 in the near to medium term. A key development during 2024 was the launch of the IV and rapid formulation of Maxigesic in the crucial US market (under the brand Combogesic IV), which we expect will drive international growth performance in the long term. Despite the broad and profitable product portfolio, AFT continues to focus on building its R&D pipeline and currently has eight programmes under development. In this interview, we speak to AFT co-founder and CEO, Dr Hartley Atkinson, about the company’s business strategy and key growth drivers as well as some of the exciting developments investors should look forward to in the next 12–18 months.

AFT Pharmaceuticals has expanded its licensing partnership with Hikma in the US to include distribution of the recently launched Combogesic tablets (Maxigesic Rapid). We view this as a logical step, given Hikma’s established footprint in the US, with synergistic benefits likely on costs and sales uptake. Hikma already holds exclusive distribution rights to Maxigesic/Combogesic IV in the US and will now also market the tablet formulation in the same hospital and ambulatory setting. Management expects to book the first sales within CY24 and, while the deal economics have not been fully disclosed, the agreement includes a profit share for Hikma according to our understanding. Note that unlike the IV formulation, AFT’s sales strategy for the tablets entails having different distribution partners across sales channels. The first distribution agreement for the Combogesic tablets was signed with Alexso in June 2024.