Creso Pharma
Creso Pharma has signed a heads of agreement with tattoo aftercare specialist Dr Pickles with a view to commercialising products from acquisition target Sierra Sage Herbs (SSH) in Australia.
The firms will also explore commercial opportunities for Dr Pickles’ products in North America via SSH’s distribution network.
The agreement is due to start at the end of July and, according to Creso, provides a potential pathway into the Australian market for SSH’s Green Goo range including tattoo care and sunscreen products.
SSH CEO and co-founder Jodi Scott predicted Green Goo’s plant-based products will be well-received in Australia.
She added: “Finding the right partner is critical for us entering Australia, and with Dr Pickles, we have met another highly successful family enterprise and identified several additional synergies that have the potential to unlock shareholder value.”
Dr Pickles’ products are available in Woolworths, pharmacies, barber shops and more than 800 tattoo studios in Australia.
Emyria
Emyria has reported positive results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of its ultra-pure oral CBD formulation EMD-RX5.
The firm said trial data indicated ideal bioavailability, safety and tolerability of the capsule among 12 healthy and demographically diverse volunteers.
Managing director Dr Michael Winlo added: “Compared to Epidyolex, the sole CBD-only medicine registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the US Food and Drug Administration, EMD-RX5 provides equivalent total drug exposures over 24 hours with a more predictable and sustained drug release.
“These results confirm [its] suitability as a multi-indication treatment of chronic conditions and support Emyria’s initial over-the-counter drug registration program targeting the symptoms of psychological distress.
“[It] was also shown to provide more than twice the bioavailability of other, plant-derived CBD products in Australia with published pharmacokinetic data.”
EMD-RX5 will now advance to pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials to support TGA registration as a Schedule 3, over-the-counter medicine.
EMD-RX7, targeting prescription-only, high-dose CBD indications, begins production for Phase 1 trials in the next quarter.
Althea
Althea Group is set to enter the Irish medicinal cannabis market after regulators approved its CBD12:THC10 cannabis oil.
The firm got the green light from the Health Products Regulatory Authority and the country’s health minister for prescription and supply of the oil, which becomes one of a limited number of medicinal cannabis products available in Ireland.
Althea will now apply for it to be included in the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, making it free of charge for Irish patents prescribed under the country’s Medicinal Cannabis Access Program.
CEO Josh Fegan said: “Having one of only a limited number of cannabis-based medicines approved for sale in Ireland is a massive advantage for Althea. We aim to achieve positive and sustainable growth in Ireland over the years to come.”
Cannasouth
Cannasouth has had three products successfully assessed by New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Agency, paving the way for it to “deliver wider treatment options to patients and prescribers”.
CEO Mark Lucas claimed: “The differentiated formulations of our products will provide… new treatment options compared to existing products on the market.
“We are confident these products offer patients and prescribers a point of difference to meet the treatment needs of a wider range of conditions.
“Full-spectrum extracts contain complex mixtures of cannabinoids. While the technical challenges from this did result in us navigating a lengthy regulatory pathway, the wait is worthwhile because of the benefit patients will receive from these enhanced product options.”
The firm said revenue generation from the sale of medicines in NZ, in addition to dried flower biomass, is one of its key goals for 2022, complementing non-cannabinoid revenues from subsidiary Midwest Pharmaceutics, which operates in the pharmaceutical, health and wellness sectors.
It added it is close to harvesting its first commercial crop of medicinal cannabis flower at its facility in the Waikato, while progressing GACP and GMP certification.
