share New Zealand’s medicines regulator has recommended the country fall in line with Australia’s new codeine restrictions, and pharmaceutical companies are backing the decision. Yesterday, Medsafe recommended that all medications containing codeine be only available via prescription, but held back from suggesting a timeframe for how it should be implemented. Dual-listed AFT Pharmaceuticals (ASX:AFP) is now expecting a lift in sales for its non-codeine painkiller Maxigesic. “In the 12 months after Australia rescheduled codeine containing medicines in 2018, sales of Maxigesic tablets increased by more than 50 per cent,” AFT managing director Dr Hartley Atkinson said. Atkinson said AFT expected the decision to drive an increase in Maxigesic sales, the impact of which may begin to be felt in fiscal 2021. The non-codeine pain management sector is growing as countries follow the US’s stance on opioid-based painkillers. Medical Developments (ASX:MVP) is commercialising its Penthrox “green whistle” emergency pain relief […]