U.K.'s Infirst Healthcare raises $30 million-plus to feed European OTC cough-cold and analgesic launches

LONDON — The U.K.'s Infirst Healthcare on Monday announced it has successfully raised $32.1 million in new funds. The funding, from Invesco Asset Management managed funds, will be used for the launch of the company's medicines into the cough-cold and analgesic consumer healthcare markets.

Infirst will launch its first product, a cocoa-flavored cough liquid, in Europe. "Cough-cold and pain are the largest and most prevalent conditions in the consumer health sector and represent an enormous opportunity for Infirst to bring innovation and efficacy to a market which has seen very few new products and only marginal innovation for decades," stated Manfred Scheske, Infirst CEO. 

The North American rights to Infirst's cough-related launch have been out-licensed to Pernix Therapeutics Holdings. 

Infirst is also developing an ibuprofen-based product for the treatment of inflammatory pain, to which it has the global rights, the company noted.