
The proposed merger, valued at AUD$773.5 million, was however withdrawn on 5 October 2021, with Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers, announcing its purchase of 19.3% of API’s shares of API two days later. The following year, Sigma launched a bid for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, which owned a number of rival retail pharmacy brands including Priceline, Pharmacist Advice and Soul Pattinson Chemists. In 2017, partly in response to Australian Government changes pharmacists’ payments under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Sigma diversified further, acquiring Medication Packaging Systems (MPS), Australia's largest provider of dose administration services to the aged care sector and community pharmacy patients.ĭuring the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Sigma announced that it had sold the land and buildings of its distribution centres in Queensland and New South Wales, under an agreement to lease the facilities back from the new owners for an initial term of 15 years. The DDS acquisition was set to add 120 pharmacies under that brand to the Sigma network. In September 2014, the company bought the Queensland-based Discount Drug Store (DDS) banner for $26.7 million. In March 2014, Sigma acquired the healthcare product wholesaler and distributor Central Healthcare Services in a deal worth $24.5 million. The pharmaceuticals division included generic brands, over-the-counter medications, its Herron brand, ethical products, medical products and the manufacturing businesses.

In 2010, Sigma Pharmaceutical restructured and sold its generic drug manufacturing business to South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare for AUD$804 million, ending an almost 100-year legacy in the manufacturing field for the company. The now-publicly listed company also changed its ASX ticker from SIP to SIG at this time. On, Sigma board of directors and shareholders voted on a change of name to Sigma Healthcare Limited. īy the end of the 20th century, Sigma had purchased the Guardian and Amcal retail pharmacy brands, and in 1999 listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as Sigma Pharmaceuticals Limited. By 1992, Sigma owned assets of $180 million, saw group sales turnover of $600 million and employed more than a thousand people. Over the course of the next 80 years, Sigma continued to expand its operations and develop into new markets, including exports into the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Sigma Company Limited was formally registered on 13 October 1913. By the end of the first year however, the venture had attracted over two hundred subscribers, who agreed to the formation of a company owned by shareholders. Established as a company to be funded by member subscriptions, initial interest from pharmacists was lukewarm, however Leete and Church persisted with their manufacturing plans. The impetus for such a move was driven by the high costs of wholesale drugs and medicines at the time, and Leete and Church set about manufacturing their own products for sale exclusively by members of the association. Ltd was established in Melbourne in 1912, by Ernest Leete and Thomas Church, with the endorsement of the South Suburban Chemists’ Association. The company also has a presence in the hospital pharmacy services, contract logistics, dose administration aids and other healthcare service adjacencies. Sigma Healthcare owns Australian retail pharmacy brands: Amcal, Discount Drug Stores and Guardian Pharmacy. From its head office in Clayton, Victoria, Sigma manages over 1,200 branded and independent pharmacies. The company has pharmacy operations in retail, wholesale and distribution. Please consult your licensed agent or contact Cigna for product availability, costs, and complete details of coverage.Sigma Healthcare Limited is an Australian, ASX-listed company with a focus on the pharmacy industry. All insurance policies and group benefit plans contain exclusions and limitations. The information on this site is only a general description of benefits. Products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions and are expressly excluded where prohibited by applicable law. In other jurisdictions, products and services are offered by or through Cigna Global Insurance Company Ltd.

Employee Assistance Programs are administered by or through Evernorth Care Solutions, Inc., Evernorth Behavioral Health Inc. In Canada, group medical, dental, vision, and evacuation plans are insured or administered by Cigna Life Insurance Company of Canada. and Canada, group life, accident and disability plans are insured or administered by Life Insurance Company of North America. In the U.S., Cigna Global Health Benefits® group medical and dental plans are insured or administered by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company.
