The Aspen Ovestin sale will transfer European commercial rights to Ennogen Healthcare International for €197 million, while Aspen retains manufacturing and supply contracts. Wholly owned subsidiary Aspen Global will sell the commercialisation rights and associated intellectual property. The price equates to approximately R3.7 billion, with related inventory adding an estimated €4 million. However, completion depends on Ennogen’s funding arrangements becoming…
Tag: Aspen Pharmacare
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Aspen Manufacturing to Drive 2027 Growth After mRNA Loss
Aspen manufacturing is expected to drive the group’s earnings growth in the 2027 financial year, as the company works to replace business lost when a major mRNA production contract ended. Aspen Pharmacare forecasts that manufacturing EBITDA will more than double this year, according to its 2026 integrated report. Sterile Operations Offset Contract Loss In the year to end-June, factory EBITDA…
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Illegal Weight-Loss Medicines Face Regulatory Crackdown
Illegal weight-loss medicines are facing increased scrutiny as pharmaceutical manufacturers demand stronger law enforcement and regulators prepare tighter rules governing compounded obesity treatments. The Pharmaceutical Task Group (PTG) has called for prosecutions against individuals and businesses selling unregistered medicines. Meanwhile, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and South African Pharmacy Council are developing updated compounding standards. The interventions…
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JSE healthcare shares: Aspen leads gains
JSE healthcare shares have advanced this year, with Aspen Pharmacare’s recovery outpacing gains at Netcare and Life Healthcare. However, analysts say sustained growth will depend on manufacturing execution and hospital patient volumes. Aspen has gained about 40% since January and more than 60% over 12 months. At roughly R160 this week, its market value stood near R69bn. Aspen Leads JSE…
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Aspen Bets Recovery on Filling Sterile Manufacturing Lines
Aspen Pharmacare’s turnaround now hinges on its sterile manufacturing, the costly network of injectable-drug plants it must fill. This follows last year’s collapse of a major mRNA contract. CEO Stephen Saad sums up the setback with a farmer’s phrase: “We lost the milk but not the cow.” The contract’s loss blew roughly R2bn out of the manufacturing division’s expected earnings.…
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Local Lenacapavir Production: Aspen Exits, Eyes Alimatravir
Aspen is giving up on local lenacapavir production because demand isn’t guaranteed. Instead, the company is supporting Merck’s alimatravir pill as a means of preventing HIV. Aspen Pharmacare has walked away from government plans to produce lenacapavir locally. This is the clearest sign yet that South Africa’s bid to make its own HIV prevention injection faces stiff commercial headwinds. Instead,…
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Aspen Pharmacare Earnings Jump 22% on Mounjaro Demand
Aspen Pharmacare earnings surged in its latest financial year, with normalised headline earnings per share climbing 22% on the back of booming demand for weight-loss medicines. Africa’s largest drugmaker reported the rise on Wednesday for the year ending 30 June. The standout driver was Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which Aspen promotes and sells across South Africa and other Sub-Saharan African markets…
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Pharmaceutical Localisation Talks Target Investment And Supply
Senior government officials and top leaders of the pharmaceutical industry have agreed to pursue closer cooperation. South Africa seeks to boost local medicine production and enhance supply security. On 18 August, the two parties met in Pretoria to talk about the immediate pressures facing the sector. They discussed the longer-term measures needed to support pharmaceutical manufacturing. Professor Nicholas Crisp, who…
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Aspen HIV Prevention Pill Deal Expands African Access
Aspen Pharmacare will become a major African supplier of Merck’s experimental monthly HIV prevention pill, alimatravir. The agreement depends on the medicine successfully completing clinical trials and receiving regulatory approval. Merck granted voluntary licenses to seven generic drug manufacturers, including the South African company, to produce and distribute lower-cost versions of the medicine. The drug also goes by its development…
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Aspen Semaglutide Canada Approval Clears Market Entry
Aspen Pharmacare has received Health Canada approval for Aspen-Semaglutide, its generic version of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes medicine Ozempic. Aspen, Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, announced that its Canadian subsidiary had secured the regulatory authorisation. The medicine has been approved for the management of type 2 diabetes. The decision gives Aspen access to Canada’s expanding market for GLP-1 medicines. However, regulatory approval…
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Aspen Chair Transition: Ben Kruger To Succeed Dlamini
Aspen Pharmacare chair Kuseni Dlamini will step down from the pharmaceutical group’s board in December 2026. Veteran director and former banking executive Ben Kruger will succeed him as chair. Aspen said Dlamini would not make himself available for re-election as a director. The company’s annual general meeting is scheduled for December. His departure will conclude a 14-year tenure on the…