New Zealand operation Rua Bioscience is to cease local GMP manufacturing with the loss of two jobs as it turns its focus to building an “international product pipeline”.

The company said it will work with manufacturing partners to provide New Zealanders with a “wider range of affordable medicines”.

Paul Naske: committed to a domestic product pipeline

The strategic shift, which comes just a month after the appointment of Paul Naske as chief executive, will impact the manufacture of one product, Rua said in a statement, although it stressed there remained “ample stock”.

“The company remains committed to developing a domestic product pipeline, ensuring prescribers and patients have access to medicines, and will update prescribers with those details in the near future,” Naske said.

“Rua will work with manufacturing partners to build out our product portfolio while developing branded products utilising our internally developed IP.”

The company, which describes itself as “export-led”, also plans to develop “valuable points of difference in the areas of genetic discovery”.

Naske added: “To capture value and encourage growth we will focus on our key strengths – leveraging our global-scale supply agreement and established sales and marketing partnerships across Europe to build a sustainable global company, while our world-class cultivation team in Ruatorea works on unique genetics for our established and future product pipelines.”

The company said it is advancing plans to enter Germany, with Poland and other emerging markets on its radar.

Outgoing chairman Trevor Burt said “advanced negotiations” were taking place in high-value European markets while commercial opportunities were also being explored in Australia.

“Our intellectual property strategy maintains its focus on plant discovery and breeding, and the formulation of unique finished products; and we remain committed to building a sustainable business that creates intergenerational opportunity in Te Tairawhiti (Gisborne region),” he said.

Steve has reported for a number of consumer and B2B titles over a journalism career spanning more than three decades. He is a regulator contributor to health journal, The Medical Republic, writing on...

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