Alliance Pharma, the specialty pharmaceutical company, has chalked up annual UK sales growth of 20% as its spate of recent acquisitions pay off.
The Chippenham-based firm, which buys underperforming drugs brands and realises their potential through investment, said its eye care product MacuShield and Ashton & Parsons Infants’ Powder – a natural remedy for teething pain – had been the star performers in its portfolio. 
But it also expects big things from the brands it added through its £132.2m acquisition of rival Sinclair IS Pharma’s range of skincare products in December last year.
That deal effectively doubled the size of the business – and the two firm's products combined generated revenues of £30.5m during the first four months of 2016.
This was in marked contrast just over a year ago when Alliance Pharma revealed a fall in sales and profits after what its chairman described as a “challenging year”.
Andrew Smith told this week’s AGM the current year had started well. The scar reduction product Kelo-Cote, from the Sinclair portfolio, achieved sales of £3m in the first four months and was now its largest-selling brand.
Sales of dry skin treatment Hydromol, the largest-selling brand in the Alliance product range, rose 7% on the same period in the prior year.
The 20% increase in UK sales to £2.9m was driven by strong growth of Ashton and Parsons and Macushield, which it acquired in February last year.
Mr Smith told shareholders: “The key activity of combining the two organisations is underway. We are in the process of integrating the Sinclair products under the Alliance name and of aligning the operational capabilities of the enlarged company; both projects are progressing to plan.
“We look forward to the year ahead with confidence.”
Alliance Pharma, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market since 2003, owns or licenses the rights to around 90 pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products and has sales in more than 100 countries worldwide.
