AFT welcomes new codeine medicine restrictions

Market and media release 5 December 2019

AFT welcomes new codeine medicine restrictions
AFT Pharmaceuticals (NZX; AFT, ASX; AFP) today welcomes Medsafe’s decision to
classify all medicines containing codeine as prescription medicines.
AFT Pharmaceutical’s Managing Director Dr Hartley Atkinson said the New Zealand
medicine regulator’s decision was a good result not only for AFT, but also for the
country. It would increase demand for AFT’s patented pain relief medicine
Maxigesic® and it would also reduce codeine overdoses and poisonings.
Dr Atkinson said: “Maxigesic was developed as a better alternative for pain relief than
other combination painkiller products, particularly those containing codeine.
“In the 12 months after Australia rescheduled codeine containing medicines in 2018,
sales of Maxigesic tablets increased by more than 50%. Meanwhile, the decision saw
a large and significant drop in codeine poisoning calls and this drop began following
the announcement and prior to legislative change
1
.
“While Medsafe still has to set the timeframe and programme for the implementation
of the new restrictions, it is clear that the harm that comes from access without a
prescription to the medicine would now start to ease.”
Dr Atkinson said although AFT expected the decision to drive an increase in Maxigesic
sales, it was too early to make precise predictions on the extent of the uplift although
some impact on Maxigesic sales in New Zealand would be expected during the FY21
financial year.
Investors Media
Dr Hartley Atkinson Richard Inder
Managing Director The Project
AFT Pharmaceuticals +64 21 645 643
Tel: +64 9488 0232

Notes to editors:

1
‘Codeine use and harms in Australia: evaluating the effects of rescheduling’, Addiction: Society for
the study of addiction, https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14798

Maxigesic® is a unique patented combination of paracetamol 500mg and ibuprofen
150mg that at full dose delivers a maximum OTC daily dose of paracetamol and
ibuprofen [4000mg paracetamol and 1200mg ibuprofen per day]
2
.
Medsafe released details of its decision taken at its October meeting yesterday and
the minutes of the meeting are available (here
)

About AFT Pharmaceuticals
AFT is a growing multinational pharmaceutical company that develops, markets and
distributes a broad portfolio of pharmaceutical products across a wide range of
therapeutic categories which are distributed across all major pharmaceutical
distribution channels: over-the-counter (OTC), prescription and hospital. Our product
portfolio comprises both proprietary and in-licensed products, and includes patented,
branded and generic drugs. Our business model is to develop and in-license products
for sale by our own dedicated sales teams in our home markets of Australia and New
Zealand and in certain Southeast Asian markets, and to out-license our products to
local licensees and distributors to over 125 countries around the world.

2
Maxigesic Data Sheet https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/m/maxigesictab.pdf