How Cosmos Health’s Acquisition Of Almost 100-Year-Old Company, Adding To Capabilities Like Contract Manufacturing, Could Generate Over $10 Million In Annual Gross Profit

October 01, 2024 at 09:30 AM EDT

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By James Blacker, Benzinga

Global healthcare group Cosmos Health (NASDAQ: COSM) has potentially positioned itself for growth through its acquisition last year of Cana Laboratories, a Greek pharmaceutical company with nearly a century of expertise. As Cosmos’ new manufacturing arm, Cana brings a wealth of synergies, potentially enabling the company to control its own production, from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals.

Cana Laboratories: A Century Of Expertise

Founded in 1928, Cana Laboratories has earned its name in the pharmaceutical industry over nearly a century, having partnered with companies such as AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Janssen, Nestlé (OTC: NSRGY), Unilever (Unilever), Viatris (NASDAQ: VTRS) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG). In recent years it has also worked with major firms in the medtech space, namely Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Stryker (NYSE: SYK).

Cosmos acquired Cana in July of last year for around $1.67 million – a heavy discount compared to Cana’s $10 million valuation at the time, according to the company. As such, Cosmos expects to record a substantial gain on the purchase of what it now considers to be its crown jewel asset.

The acquisition of Cana equips Cosmos with in-house manufacturing capabilities, bringing significant vertical integration and providing greater control over quality and costs. Cosmos can now use Cana’s facilities to manufacture its portfolio of generic medicines, including treatments for diabetes, cholesterol, respiratory and cardiac conditions, as well as its proprietary nutraceutical brand, Sky Premium Life. The acquisition has moreover added several brands to Cosmos’ portfolio, including antiseptics like C-Sept, the organic infant care line biobebe and dermocosmetics such as Eleon Cosmetics.

New Facility To Scale Production

Furthermore, Cosmos now owns Cana's 54,000 sq. ft. production facility in Athens. Certified by the European Medicines Agency and with a Good Manufacturing Practice license, this facility enhances Cosmos’ production capabilities, creating opportunities for potentially lucrative contract manufacturing agreements.

Cosmos has invested some $5.5 million in Cana since the acquisition. The investment includes upgrading the Athens facility with new machinery, equipment, IT infrastructure and quality management systems. These investments will enable the company to manufacture a wide range of pharmaceuticals at scale, such as tablets, capsules, syrups, sprays, creams, gels and ointments.

The company announced in July this year that it completed the first phase of this upgrade. At full capacity, which Cosmos says will be reached by the end of 2025, the facility is expected to generate over $10 million in annual gross profit. This stands in contrast to Cosmos’ current market cap of about $15 million as of Sept. 27.

Contract Manufacturing: A High-Margin Growth Driver

With its enhanced manufacturing capacity, Cosmos aims to accelerate the growth of its contract manufacturing business. In July, the company announced that it signed agreements with Provident Pharmaceuticals and Humacology to manufacture 5,020,000 units of medicines and up to 500,000 CBD units.

Cosmos says its contract manufacturing business has very high margins thanks to minimal costs, most of which are borne by clients. The company, therefore, expects the newly signed deals to be highly profitable. Moreover, with less than 20% of its production capacity being utilized, there is plenty of room to sign additional contracts.

Further down the line, if the facility reaches full capacity, Cosmos is prepared to initiate a second phase of the expansion to further boost capacity and gross profits beyond the projected $10 million from phase 1.

Cosmos Health says it is confident that the acquisition of Cana Laboratories positions it for substantial growth. With its new in-house production capabilities, the company can boost efficiency and secure high-margin contract manufacturing agreements. Interested investors may want to watch for announcements of further contract manufacturing agreements as Cosmos seeks to fully utilize its production capacity.

Featured photo by Testalize.me on Unsplash.

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