Annual sales and profits have fallen slightly at Chippenham speciality pharmaceutical company Alliance Pharma in what its chairman described as a “challenging year”.
Revenues were down by 4% to £43.5m on lower sales of two of its portfolio of branded treatments in the period to December 31. As a result, pre-tax profits came in 10% lower at £10.8m. 
However, chairman Andrew Smith said the business was well placed to resume growth following the £5.5m acquisition of the maker of eye care product MacuShield and the return of its ImmuCyst cancer drug.
The lower sales of the two products – a cyclical toxicology product and its Nu-Seals low-dose aspirin, which together accounted for a revenue reduction totalling some £4.3m – was offset by revenue growth of £2.5m (11%) in the rest of Alliance’s portfolio.
This underlying growth was led by a 15% increase in sales of dry skin treatment Hydromol while sales of its Opus stoma care products grew by 10%. Sales of Ashton & Parsons Infants’ Powder natural remedy for teething pain more than tripled to £1.4m.
Alliance has been unable to supply ImmuCyst, its bladder cancer treatment, since production was halted at a manufacturing plant in Canada in mid-2012. The treatment had peak annual sales of more than £4m before production was suspended.
“Regulatory validation of the refurbished production facility is taking significantly longer than initially anticipated, and we now expect to resume sales in the second half of 2015,” Alliance said.
“Market feedback indicates continued demand for the product, and we expect to rebuild substantial sales over time as hospitals revert to ImmuCyst.”
Alliance said it would continue its long-established ‘buy and build’ strategy and was seeking acquisition opportunities across a wide range of products and markets backed by a £21m war chest.
