About AFT

What we do

Pharmaceuticals with a difference

With a guiding principle of working to improve your health, we deliver pharmaceuticals that make a real difference to people’s health.

Here at AFT Pharmaceuticals, our company vision is simple: to develop innovative products that help people. We do this by seeing opportunities that others may have missed, and by filling gaps in the market with innovative products that can provide positive health outcomes for those who need them.

Our success is built on research and development. R&D is more than ‘corporate speak’ for us: it’s at the heart of what we do in developing new products or improving existing ones. This has allowed us to successfully grow our business year after year, and crucially, to meet the health needs of people in Australasia and around the globe.

We’ve invested a lot of money on R&D. That’s where the real bang is.
Hartley Atkinson, Founder and Managing Director

Our history

From ‘go’ to global in under 20 years

1998 We’re underway

Husband and wife team Hartley and Marree Atkinson form AFT Pharmaceuticals, the small Kiwi company that dreamed big. In August that year, we celebrate a huge milestone – our first sales.

2002 Owning it

We acquire our first wholly owned AFT Pharmaceutical products. We also acquire part ownership of two South African pharmaceutical companies and a wholesaler – these are successfully sold in 2004.

2004 G’day, cobber

AFT Pharmaceuticals is established in Australia. A big move for us back then, but Australia is now our second home. We also begin our own drug development work and file our first two global patents.

2006 Europe calls

Our little New Zealand company hits the big time. We sign a joint venture drug development agreement with a company in the European Union, expanding our global reach phenomenally.

2008 So does South East Asia

AFT secures an out-licensing deal for three of our own products in South East Asia. By December, our first product launches are underway in Malaysia. Things are on the up and up!

2009 A breakthrough

Arise Maxigesic^® AFT’s world-first combination analgesic is launched in New Zealand. This groundbreaking pharmaceutical is a roaring success and is soon out-licensed to Eastern Europe.

2012 Through the barrier

Group sales increase to NZ$50 million. We launch preservative-free HYLO-FRESH and HYLO-FORTE eye drops in Australia and New Zealand, which is at the forefront of our strong growth in the Eye Care category over the following years.

2013 A global snowball

We keep on expanding. By now, AFT Pharmaceutical’s distribution and out-licensing agreements have expanded significantly to include 42 countries in Australasia and around the globe.

2014 What a year

Maxigesic^® is launched in Australia. We discover a major formulation error in competitive cold and flu products, published globally. Milford Asset Management (NZ) and Capital Royalty (USA) collectively invest US$12M in equity.

2015 Things gets big: real big

AFT Pharmaceuticals is publicly listed on the ASX and NZX stock exchanges. We commission independent surveys showing widespread concerns about the use of codeine in over-the-counter painkillers.

2018 Our first Maxigesic line extension

Maxigesic^® PE is launched in New Zealand – a patented combination of paracetamol, ibuprofen and phenylephrine that provides triple action cold, flu and sinus relief. We also introduce NovaTears^®; unique preservative-free eye drops specifically designed for evaporative dry eye disease.

2020 Challenging times, strong results

The COVID-19 pandemic dominates headlines around the world, but AFT doesn’t stand still throughout this challenging year for global health care. We launch Maxigesic^® IV in Australia and New Zealand, while licensing deals for international markets continue to grow. NovaTears^® + Omega-3 is an exciting addition to our growing eye care product range. And to top it all off, AFT breaks through the $100M revenue barrier to achieve record company earnings.

2021 The story continues

It has been a busy start to the year with a number of new product launches in Australia and New Zealand to help drive further growth for AFT Pharmaceuticals.

Meet the team

The Board

Chairman

David Flacks

Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director and Co-Founder

Dr Hartley Atkinson

Chief of Staff, Executive Director and Co-Founder

Marree Atkinson

Independent Director

Jon Lamb

Independent Director

Anita Baldauf

Independent Non-Executive Director

Ted Witek

Management team

Chief Executive Officer

Dr Hartley Atkinson

Chief Financial Officer

Malcolm Tubby

Head of Drug Development

Ioana Stanescu

Regulatory Affairs Manager

Vladimir Ilievski

Director International Business

Louise Clayton

General Manager Promoted Products

Scott Crawford

Group Marketing Manager

Murray Keith

Careers

Join our team

We’re always looking for talented people, please have a look at the careers we currently have available by visiting our profile on the below Careers website.