Creso Pharma
Creso Pharma’s wholly owned Canadian life sciences subsidiary Creso Impactive has appointed professional golfers Kelly Whaley and Will Wilcox and sports performance coach Troy Van Biezen as brand ambassadors.
Each has an established social media following that the company will leverage to drive product awareness and potential sales.
Under the terms of the agreement, the ambassadors will help Impactive’s marketing team create a library of uniquely branded content including videos, photographs, social media post templates and sponsored content.
Impactive managing director Brett Ayers said: “We believe that as more and more prominent athletes and the clinicians they trust come forward in support of CBD, and more specifically in support of Impactive, that we will be able to leverage these relationships and grow our name in the athletic space.”
Meanwhile, another Creso subsidiary, Halucenex Life Sciences, has applied to expand the scope of its Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the efficacy of psilocybin on treatment-resistant post traumatic stress disorder.
If an amendment to the trial’s Clinical Trial Authorisation (CTA) is granted by Health Canada, the company will be able to include patients being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors without requiring them to stop taking their prescribed medications a week prior to the trial.
A broadened CTA would provide Halucenex with more comprehensive trial data and allow a wider range of patients to take part.
Wellnex Life
ASX-listed Wellnex Life has announced a 50/50 joint venture with OneLife Botanicals for the manufacture, distribution and sale of medicinal cannabis and hemp-based products.
Under the arrangement, Wellnex will earn a 4% stake in OneLife once it has registered a Schedule 3 product for over-the-counter sales in pharmacies.
Wellnex CEO George Karafotias said: “We are targeting production of a medicinal cannabis product appropriate for the Special Access Scheme market by the end of this year and are aiming to have a registered product in the Schedule 3 market by the end of CY23.”
Last week, it was announced that OneLife had acquired MediPharm Labs Australia in a A$6.9m deal.
Zyus Life Sciences
Canadian firm Zyus Life Sciences has completed its first shipment of cannabinoid oil formulations to Australia for sale and distribution via the special access and authorised prescriber schemes.
Three oils – high CBD, high THC and balanced- will be accessible through pharmacies across Australia as the company begins to scale its distribution network.
Zyus has also conducted a Phase 1 Human Osteoarthritis Pain Evaluation (HOPE) clinical trial in Australia studying its Trichomylin soft gel as a treatment for chronic pain.
Emyria
Emyria and the University of Western Australia have made drug discovery and development progress, expanding their proprietary MDMA analogue library by a further 19 compounds.
This is the third batch generated since the partnership was formed and brings the library size to more than 125 novel MDMA-like compounds. Additional design and synthesis is ongoing, guided by screening results.
Three drug discovery priority areas have been identified: drug-assisted psychotherapy for major mental health disorders where shorter-acting MDMA may be desirable; novel, small molecule treatments for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease; and treatments for non-neurological disorders where selective activity at peripheral serotonin receptors is of interest.
Further testing is planned to identify lead compounds in each focus area.
MGC Pharmaceuticals
MGC Pharma has appointed Robert Clements to the newly created position of chief commercial officer.
With expertise in market development for rare and chronic diseases, Clements will oversee and lead the company’s key commercial functions including business development, marketing and sales.
He has more than 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceuticals sector, most recently as vice president of business development in the international rare medicines division of Sciences Rare.
The move completes a restructure of key executive roles at MGC Pharma including the establishment of a UK-based corporate team.
The company decided to appoint a London-based chief financial officer due to the growth of its European Union and Israeli manufacturing and research operations and Angela-Marie Graham has now started in the role. Managing director and CEO Roby Zomer is also relocating to London.
The ASX-listed firm has been dual listed on the London Stock Exchange since early 2021.
Rua Bioscience
Rua Bioscience CEO Rob Mitchell will retire in September after nearly three years in the role. Board director Anna Stove will lead the business as managing director while the board looks to appoint a new CEO.
Rua chair Trevor Burt said: “Since his appointment in February 2020, Rob has been instrumental in building a world-class team and growing new strategic partnerships.
“Under Rob’s leadership, Rua has gained the certifications and licences needed to achieve New Zealand market entry and develop new market opportunities.”
Mitchell added: “I’m proud of the milestones Rua has achieved in recent years, in particular the successful transition from a co-founder led business to a NZX-listed company, developing and launching Rua’s first product and establishing New Zealand’s first compassionate access program.”
