A big-money bid for an Australian medicine maker has been scuppered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers after the Foreign Investment Review Board found the deal was not in the national interest.

The sticking point for the $672 million acquisition of SA-based Mayne Pharma came after the bidder, US healthcare giant Cosette, threatened to sell or shut down the Australian company’s factory in Adelaide.

The treasurer said his decision to kill off the deal was “entirely consistent with the FIRB advice” that the proposal would be contrary to Australia’s national interest.

“Following broad consultation, I received unequivocal advice from Treasury and FIRB that no conditions could be put in place to adequately mitigate national interest risks, particularly unique risks to the supply of critical medicines,

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