Shares in Alchemia have more than doubled in price after the drug developer agreed to sell its major asset, the generic anti-coagulant fondaparinux sodium.
Shares in Alchemia were worth 3.5 cents before the news, and added four cents to close at 7.5 cents.
Injectable fondaparinux sodium is used to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. It is mainly used in hospitals after major surgery such as knee and hip replacements.
Alchemia will sell the intellectual property rights to US pharmaceuticals firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories for about $24.3 million.
The sale needs the approval of shareholders at the company's annual meeting in November, Alchemia said.
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The company had previously granted rights to Dr Reddy's to manufacture fondaparinux sodium and market it in North America and elsewhere, in return for royalties on sales.
The decision to sell fondaparinux follows a strategic review of Alchemia's assets and operations prompted by the failure in October 2014 of Alchemia's Phase III trial of HA-Irinotecan to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.
The review found future revenues from injectable fondaparinux were increasingly uncertain given greater competition from new oral drugs and generic versions of the drug.
Alchemia has since sold, or is seeking to sell, other assets.
The pharmaceutical booked an annual net loss of $15.8 million in the 2014/15 financial year, up from a loss of $6.9 million a year earlier.
