Auckland-headquartered pharmaceutical company AFT Pharmaceuticals has reported record sales for its 2026 financial year, announcing sustained double-digit growth across all of its markets and confirming a new United States distribution partnership with Cost Plus, the low-cost pharmacy chain backed by billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
The NZX-listed company released its March Quarter FY2026 investor update earlier this month, reconfirming operating earnings guidance of between $20 million and $24 million and stating it remains firmly on track to reach a $300 million revenue target for the 2027 financial year. The update described broad-based growth and continuing strong demand as underpinning the record result, with the company’s international expansion gathering momentum across multiple fronts.
Central to the latest update is a new agreement to distribute AFT’s flagship pain relief product, Maxigesic Rapid, through the Cost Plus network in the United States, where the medicine is marketed under the name Combogesic Rapid. Cost Plus is a public benefit organisation founded in 2022 with backing from Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur best known internationally as an investor on the television programme Shark Tank. The company was established with the explicit goal of lowering the cost of prescription and over-the-counter medicines for American consumers, and it operates a transparent pricing model that charges customers the cost of a medicine plus a flat markup of fifteen percent.
Since its founding, Cost Plus has grown rapidly and now stocks more than 2,300 commonly prescribed and recommended medicines, distributing them both online and through a network of affiliated pharmacies across all fifty United States. Its reach and its reputation for transparent, low-cost pricing have made it an attractive partner for pharmaceutical companies seeking to expand their presence in the American market without relying solely on traditional retail pharmacy channels.
For AFT, the partnership represents a significant shift in its US distribution strategy for Maxigesic Rapid. The company said it is concentrating on Cost Plus as its primary channel for reaching mainstream US markets, while its existing distribution partners continue to serve their respective segments. Alexso will maintain the distribution arrangements it has held since 2024, and Hikma will continue to handle the intravenous form of the medicine, which is used in clinical settings.
Maxigesic is a combination analgesic that pairs paracetamol and ibuprofen in a single formulation designed to deliver more effective pain relief than either ingredient alone. The product is the result of years of research and development at AFT and has been authorised for sale in more than sixty countries. In the United States, gaining a foothold in a competitive and heavily regulated market has been a long-term ambition for the company, and the Cost Plus arrangement gives Combogesic Rapid access to a growing, price-conscious consumer base that is actively seeking alternatives to traditional pharmacy pricing.
AFT’s managing director Dr Hartley Atkinson said the company had achieved sustained growth across all of its operations, with broad-based growth and continuing strong demand despite global uncertainties weighing on many businesses. The comments reflect a wider picture of a company that has invested steadily in building an international portfolio over many years and is now beginning to see the benefits of that strategy reflected in its financial results.
Beyond the United States, AFT’s operations in South Africa are also performing ahead of expectations. The company acquired the hospital business of Pharma Dynamics in December 2025, and that integration has now been completed successfully. The acquisition has expanded AFT South Africa’s product portfolio from four products to seventeen, significantly increasing its commercial footprint in one of Africa’s largest pharmaceutical markets. AFT said the South African business is expected to make a strong contribution to its earnings in the 2027 financial year, adding another leg to the company’s international growth story.
The company is also making progress on an innovative product in its pipeline that could open access to a substantial global market. AFT is developing a novel iron injection designed to treat iron deficiency, a condition that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is particularly prevalent among women, elderly patients, and people with chronic disease. A clinical study completed in the second quarter of FY2026 showed the injection offered reduced dosing requirements compared to existing treatments, as well as fewer side effects and lower toxicity than oral and intravenous alternatives currently on the market.
Following meetings with the United States Food and Drug Administration, AFT has been given approval to launch a pivotal clinical study, which will involve 1,360 patients recruited across seven countries including New Zealand, India, China, Japan, the United States, Armenia, and several European nations. The market for iron deficiency treatments is significant, with analysts projecting global demand to reach US$7.4 billion by 2033. AFT has already signed a licence agreement with China’s Grand Life Sciences Group to support the product’s development and commercialisation in that market.
The breadth of activity across North America, Africa, and Asia reflects a company that has moved well beyond its New Zealand origins and is executing on a genuinely global strategy. With record sales in FY2026 confirmed, operating earnings on track, the Cost Plus partnership providing a new route into the United States consumer market, and a promising pipeline asset advancing toward pivotal trials, AFT appears well placed to meet its $300 million revenue goal for the year ahead.
The full FY2026 financial results are expected to be released on 21 May 2026. More details on the March Quarter investor update are available through the NZX announcement and a summary was also published on Scoop.
Have you invested in NZX-listed pharmaceutical companies, or do you use products like Maxigesic? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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