Wellnex Life, based in Port Melbourne, develops and sells over-the-counter health brands through Australian pharmacies and supermarkets, and is listed on the ASX and London's AIM. It bought the Pain Away brand in 2023, cleared more than A$13m of debt in a 2025 London listing, then lost most of its board and shrank its costs. In September 2026 it sold Pain Away, about half its sales, for A$19.8m upfront.
Health brands for pharmacy shelves, plus licensing
Wellnex develops, licenses and markets registered health products and brands. They are ranged in major retailers, pharmacies and supermarkets. It earns money two ways. Brand sales made up 72% of revenue in the first half of FY26 (the year to June 2026). The rest came from licensing its product know-how to larger drugmakers and making product for them.
Pain Away, a topical pain-relief brand, was the biggest brand. It made about A$13.0m of the group's A$24.8m FY26 revenue. On the licensing side, Wellnex supplies liquid softgel paracetamol to Haleon, the UK consumer-health group, for the UK and UAE markets. It also takes part in the Wagner Liquigesic painkiller range sold through Chemist Warehouse. 1 Sep 2026 27 Feb 2026 30 Sep 2025 22 Sep 2025 2 Apr 2026
Buying Pain Away, then paying for it
Wellnex bought Pain Away in December 2023. In FY25, the first full year with it, revenue rose 40.5% to A$23.6m. The loss still widened to A$15.6m, because of large non-cash and one-off costs, including the AIM listing. The company said Pain Away held about 14% of Australia's natural topical pain-relief market.
Payment for the brand was deferred and repeatedly pushed back. The company extended the deferred payment in November 2024, and again in January 2025 for an extra A$500,000 fee. The AIM admission on 21 March 2025 raised £5.22m at 31.75p a share. Together with convertible notes, it cleared more than A$13m of debt, which the company said would save about A$1.4m a year. The shares were 24p at the end of March 2025. 30 Sep 2025 29 Aug 2025 21 Mar 2025 12 May 2025
Cash squeeze, new loans and a board exodus
The first quarter of FY26 was weak. Sales fell 18% to A$5.4m, operating cash flow was A$2.9m negative, and licensing revenue dropped 82%. The company has not said why. It borrowed again from Reach Wholesale: A$2.825m announced on 31 July 2025 and up to A$2.5m on 19 September, both at 14% over 24 months. It also decided to exit medicinal cannabis.
Between August and November 2025 both joint CEOs, the executive director Vivienne Zhang and two non-executive directors left. The board shrank from seven to four. The company has not given reasons. Two of the departed executives had lent the company money, about A$2.88m including interest, due on 20 April 2026. The shares fell from 13.5p in September to 6p in December. 20 Oct 2025 31 Jul 2025 19 Sep 2025 15 Aug 2025 21 Oct 2025 27 Nov 2025 21 Apr 2026 1 Sep 2026
Cost cuts, then the sale of the profitable brand
Management cut costs and said the group reached operating breakeven in the December 2025 quarter. FY26 revenue rose 5% to A$24.8m. The EBITDA loss (operating loss before interest, tax and depreciation) fell from A$12.1m to A$1.7m, and the net loss fell to A$4.5m. Operating cash flow was positive in the last two quarters. The former directors' loan was extended twice, for a A$150,000 fee in April 2026, and then until the Pain Away sale completes. The shares dropped to 3.2p by June 2026.
On 6 August 2026 Wellnex agreed to sell Pain Away to Mentholatum Australasia for A$19.8m plus up to A$1.5m in earn-out payments. Pain Away had earned A$4.4m EBITDA in FY25, when the whole group lost A$12.1m at that level. Shareholders approved the deal on 8 September and it completed on 11 September. The shares were 5.5p at the end of August. 16 Dec 2025 27 Feb 2026 1 Sep 2026 30 Apr 2026 31 Jul 2026 23 Apr 2026 6 Aug 2026 8 Sep 2026 11 Sep 2026
What explains the record
Debt and deferred payments from the Pain Away purchase took up most of FY25 and drove the one-off costs. The AIM raise cleared them, but the group was still burning cash months later and had to borrow at 14%.
The profit also sat in one brand. Pain Away carried the group's earnings, and selling it was the way to pay off the borrowings. The sudden loss of most of the board, with former executives as creditors, added to the pressure. The company has not explained the departures. 30 Sep 2025 29 Aug 2025 20 Oct 2025 6 Aug 2026 21 Oct 2025
Interim leaders and a cost reset
Ash Vesali became interim executive chair in October 2025. Eric Jiang took over on 10 March 2026, with Vesali moving to non-executive director. The company said in March that the search for a permanent CEO was at an advanced stage. Its FY26 report, dated 1 September, still names Jiang as interim chair, and no CEO has been announced. Joe Rinarelli became chief financial officer on 1 September 2026, and Zhang stepped down but stays on as a consultant. Hilton Wood joined the board as an independent director in June 2026.
The cost record is mixed. On 20 October 2025 management promised over A$1m in annualised savings. On 27 November it said operating spend would fall by up to 40% from the prior year's A$10.8m. The company has not reported whether the 40% was reached. The FY25 report said revenue would rise 'strongly' in FY26, and it rose 5%. Gross margin did improve, to 30.2% from 29%. Director Jeffrey Yeh sold 4.4m shares at A$0.08 on 30 September 2026, leaving 100,200 shares. 1 Oct 2025 12 Mar 2026 27 Mar 2026 1 Sep 2026 12 Jun 2026 27 Nov 2025 20 Oct 2025 5 Oct 2026 30 Sep 2025
“a targeted cost reduction programme has been initiated and will be planned to deliver over $1 million in annualised savings” 20 Oct 2025
Smaller, with sale proceeds and a going-concern warning
After the sale, Wellnex keeps its other brands, its Haleon and other licensing and contract manufacturing work, and its Wagner Liquigesic range. The FY26 accounts, which were completed before the sale, carry a material going-concern uncertainty in the audit report. Net assets fell to A$7.5m from A$11.2m. Cash was A$862k at 30 June 2026. The company said the proceeds would retire all its borrowings, about A$10.2m, leaving it debt free. It will use the rest for working capital. The Haleon supply agreement runs to 16 March 2027. Pentwater Capital Management held 4.8% of the shares as of April 2026. 1 Sep 2026 31 Jul 2026 6 Aug 2026 11 Sep 2026 2 Apr 2026 7 Apr 2026
“Proceeds from the Transaction will be used to retire all of the Company's borrowings, leaving Wellnex Life debt free at completion” 6 Aug 2026
What the company expects next
The board says its focus will be on scaling the company to sustainable profitability and positive free cash flow. It also says it will review options to deliver the best value for shareholders, with a further update 'in due course'. It still lists the more-than-A$1m savings target.
Open questions remain. The company has not said what the retained business earns without Pain Away. It has not said whether the UK distribution sales planned for 2026 have started, or the New Zealand sales planned for the first half of FY26. It has not named a permanent CEO. Whether the former directors' loans were repaid at completion is also unconfirmed. 6 Aug 2026 11 Sep 2026 1 Sep 2026 10 Apr 2025 18 Sep 2025 12 Mar 2026
Written by AI from Wellnex Life Limited's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources