PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Sigma shareholders tick $34bn chemist deal

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 16 : 30-Jan-25

More than 97 per cent of votes cast at a meeting of Sigma Healthcare shareholders on Wednesday were in favour of the proposed $34bn merger with Chemist Warehouse. Shareholders of the privately-owned Chemist Warehouse subsequently backed the deal later in the day at a pub in Melbourne’s north. Sigma’s chairman Michael Sammells says the merger is expected to generate about $60m worth of synergies, but he notes that there will be a lot of integration work given that the two companies are very different organisations. The merged group is slated to list on the sharemarket in mid-February.

CORPORATES
SIGMA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SIG, CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

Healthy Sigma set for acquisitions

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Mar-16

Australian-listed Sigma Pharmaceuticals has posted a 2015 net profit of $A50.5m, which is 4.3 per cent lower than previously, although revenue rose by 10 per cent to $A3.5bn. CEO Mark Hooper notes that the proportion of Sigma’s revenue from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has fallen in recent years due to the group’s push to diversify its sources of income. He has flagged acquisitions and identified expansion into the hospital pharmacy sector as a key growth strategy.

CORPORATES
SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP

Nurofen range to be pulled over claims

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 15-Dec-15

The Federal Court has ruled that Reckitt Benckiser misled consumers by claiming that its Nurofen painkillers are specially formulated to treat specific medical conditions. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission took legal action after alleging that each Nurofen product contains the same active ingredient. Reckitt Benckiser has been given three months to withdraw the specific-pain products from sale, but it will be allowed to keep marketing them for 12 months provided the packaging indicates that the products can be used to treat other types of pain.

CORPORATES
RECKITT BENCKISER (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION

Ex-Sigma CEO faces jail for falsifying company accounts

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-15

Two former senior executives of Australian-listed Sigma Pharmaceuticals will return to court in September 2015, after pleading guilty to charges of falsifying the group’s financial accounts. Elmo de Alwis was CEO until 2010, while Mark Smith stepped down as CFO in the same year. They have also been charged with providing false and misleading statements to the group’s board of directors and auditors.

CORPORATES
SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Pokie king’s gamble on Mayne Pharma works

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 14-May-15

Australian businessman Bruce Mathieson has a 7.46 per cent stake in drug manufacturer Mayne Pharma. The sharp rise in its share price in 2015 has lifted the value of Mathieson’s shareholding to around $A70m. Mayne’s market capitalisation is now almost $A1bn, and Mathieson expects the stock to keep rising. Mathieson is a non-executive director of Mayne.

CORPORATES
MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX, AUSTRALIAN LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, PFD FOOD SERVICES PTY LTD, REECE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX REH, THORNEY INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PFIZER INCORPORATED, WESTERN DESERT RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WDR

Sigma lifts earnings in tough conditions

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Mar-15

Australian-listed Sigma Pharmaceuticals has posted an after-tax net profit of $A52.7m for the year to 31 January 2015, compared with $A53.5m previously. EBIT rose by 11 per cent to $A78m and revenue increased by 5.7 per cent to $A3.1bn. Sigma will pay a final dividend of $A0.02 per share, while investors will also receive a special dividend of $A0.01 per share

CORPORATES
SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Doctors seek drug ‘education’ ban

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Original article by Harriet Alexander
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 9 : 10-Oct-14

The No Advertising Please group has been set up by Queensland general practitioner (GP) Justin Coleman. Its aim is to persuade doctors to place a moratorium for 12 months on so-called educational visits by sales representatives of major pharmaceutical companies. In the six months to March 2014 the industry invested $A37m-plus in such promotions, and research shows that GPs are more likely to prescribe drugs being marketed at the events. The 2014 congress of the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners in Adelaide on 11 October will be the launch venue for the No Advertising Please campaign

CORPORATES
THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS, MEDICINES AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED