Australian healthcare company Medical Developments International (MDI), the manufacturer of the acute pain killer Penthrox, has opened a new facility in Melbourne to keep up with global demand for the product.
Backed by CSIRO, the company has seen its market value rise from about $10 million in March 2010, to around $290 million today.
“We’ve enjoyed a long-standing partnership of over 17 years with MDI, and in that time seen have them become a world-leading SME in the biomed space,” said Dr Paul Savage, CSIRO’s Biomedical Research Director.
“As the Australian manufacturing industry transitions from high volume commodity products to innovation-driven high-value exports, it is companies like Medical Developments International that are leading the way. Australian SMEs are the engine-room of economic development in Australia and CSIRO is proud to play its small part in the growth strategy of star SME’s like MDI.”
Penthrox is a simple to use, non-narcotic, non-addictive alternative for acute pain management, fitting a significant market need globally. MDI’s CEO John Sharman said the new manufacturing facility in Melbourne’s East will help the company satisfy the growing demand for the drug, adding that the investment will also generate about 26 new jobs over the next 12 months.
“Penthrox has now been approved for sale in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, France and Belgium,” Mr Sharman continued.
“We’re expecting to enter another 37 markets over the next two years, including Germany, Spain and Italy, and commence the product approval process in the USA. This state of the art facility allows us to keep up with not only current demand but future growth over the next decade.”
