AFT Pharmaceuticals - Maxigesic IV closer to FDA approval

AFT Pharmaceuticals has announced that the US FDA has allocated a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date for Maxigesic IV, an intravenous form of its flagship pain relief medicine. The PDUFA date is expected to be the last step in the FDA review process and has been set for 17 October 2023. It follows submission of additional requested data in April 2023 in response to the complete response letter (CRL) received from the FDA in July 2022 (related to queries about certain extractable and leachable compounds present in Maxigesic IV’s packaging) following the 2021 New Drug Application. The IV formulation is registered in 43 countries and has been launched in more than 19 (including the key markets of Germany, France and Italy), but the US is expected to be a key high-margin market. We note that Maxigesic IV was out-licensed to Hikma Pharmaceuticals in the US in 2021 for up to NZ$18.8m in proceeds.