Helius Therapeutics

Helius Therapeutics has had two products containing THC verified as meeting the quality standard by New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Agency.

Helius chief executive Carmen Doran

The move comes after Helius was granted GMP certification to manufacture medicines containing THC by MedSafe in December

The launch of the two new medicines into the NZ market brings Helius’ portfolio to six. The firm plans to export the latest products to its European customers this year. 

Chief executive Carmen Doran said: “The THC-containing products have had considerable interest internationally, with GMP-manufactured products gaining a lot of attention globally as the medical markets continue to grow.

“We have seen particular interest in balanced, full-spectrum medicinal cannabis formulations,” she added. 

Dragonfly Biosciences

London-based CBD firm Dragonfly appears to be teasing an ASX listing again having put plans to float on hold in February 2022 amid concerns over market volatility and its valuation.

The Australian reports Dragonfly is calling on prospective investors to register their interest and sending out marketing material highlighting the momentum in the medicinal cannabis industry, including the Kennard family’s recent investment in Australian Natural Therapeutics Group.

Details of the new listing plan have yet to be made public and News Corp Australia (publisher of The Australian) said it had “as yet been unsuccessful in contacting the company’s executives or representatives from its broker Finexia Securities”.

However, according to newspaper, the company’s marketing material cites Prohibition Partners figures to tell potential investors: “Having been worth over A$50 million in 2020 and about $200 million this year, Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry is predicted to be worth $1.6 billion by 2026.’’

In late 2021, the company said it was seeking to raise A$10 million via a float, issuing 50 million shares at 20 cents each. Funds would be used to accelerate global expansion and product development. A prospectus envisaged an ASX-listing valuing the company at $95m.

However, early the following year potential investors were told the IPO had been deferred “at the request of key parties essential to a successful float’’.

“Dragonfly and Finexia have liaised with various institutional investors who originally expressed a keen interest in the IPO,” investors were told.

“The overwhelming response from these stakeholders is to defer the IPO and review a number of key statistics in the offer, including valuation.

“The current sentiment in global equities markets has further compounded the company’s predicament, forcing the current course of action.’’

Medlab Clinical

ASX-listed Medlab Clinical has filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a dual listing on the Nasdaq it estimates will raise up to $US8.1m.

The firm’s shares are currently trading at A$6.72 on the ASX (January 3, 2023) giving it a market cap of $15.29m.

MGC Pharmaceuticals

As a result of an ongoing strategic review of its business and operations, MGC Pharma has implemented further cost reductions to enable the company to direct a greater portion of its working capital to advancing its clinical trial and research programs in 2023.

The board has agreed to an immediate ~35% reduction in director fees, effective from December 1 2022. The key executive officer team (ie. non-directors) have also agreed to a 10-20% reduction in their cash remuneration, with only the key executive officers to be issued MGC shares in lieu of the reduction in their cash salary.

In a statement to the ASX, MGC Pharma said: “The board believes that this approach is appropriate in the current economic climate, as it helps to reallocate working capital to the prioritised clinical and research programs in 2023, retain experienced executives to execute the company’s business plans, and better align executives’ pay with shareholder returns.”

The board also announced that Evan Hayes has resigned as a non-executive director effective from January 1, 2023, “as part of the company’s transition to a dedicated life sciences pharmaceuticals company”. 

It added: “As a result… MGC’s board will be reduced to five directors, with the company continuing to evaluate the composition of the board over the next six months to ensure that it reflects its position as a European-based life sciences pharmaceutical company.”

Entoura

An insomnia study by the National Institute of Integrative Medicine has shown Entoura’s 10:15 oil to be effective in treating patients with insomnia.

The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study gauged the tolerability and effectiveness of Entoura’s 10 mg/ml THC:15 mg/ml CBD oil in 29 participants with self-reported clinical insomnia over a two-week period.

It found the medicine was generally well tolerated while midnight melatonin levels significantly improved compared to placebo, as did the duration and quality of sleep, quality of life and daily functioning.

At the end of the trial, 65% of participants were no longer classified as clinical insomniacs, which the research team described as “clinically and statistically significant”. 

They concluded: “Our short-term trial suggests Entoura 10:15 medicinal cannabis oil… to be well tolerated and effective in significantly improving sleep quality and duration, midnight melatonin levels, quality of life, and mood within two weeks in adults with insomnia.”

The study is published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

Creso Pharma

Creso Pharma has secured A$500k in funding from investment firm Obsidian Global, issuing 340,850 convertible notes under the second purchase of a facility announced in November 2022.

Under the drawdown, Creso will issue nearly 13 million collateral shares and 22 million listed options trading on the ASX under the code CPHO at a strike price of $0.25.

Creso CEO and MD William Lay

The funding adds to around $2m of director participation in prior placements that recently received shareholder approval.

CEO and MD William Lay said: “Obsidian has a successful track record of supporting ASX-listed growth companies and we believe there is significant value to having a flexible capital partner.

“Creso remains well positioned to deliver shareholder value via ongoing penetration into the various, high-growth, plant-based verticals that it currently resides in and we look forward to providing additional updates to our shareholders as these opportunities crystallise.”

Meanwhile, the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary Mernova Medicinal will launch seven new products in Canada to be sold through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC).

The products were selected following a rigorous evaluation of 1,200 submissions which led to a total of 75 new listings in Nova Scotia.

It doubles Mernova’s total listings in the province from seven stock-keeping units to 14, with sales across its Ritual Green, Ritual Stick and Ritual Gold product suite expected from mid-March.

Lay said: “Nova Scotia has always served as a barometer for the company and to have an additional seven products accepted by the NSLC is a major achievement.”

Southern Cannabis Holdings

ASX-listed specialist investment firm Hygrovest has said Southern Cannabis Holdings (SCH) could pay a dividend this year on the back of growing revenue and improving margins.

In its December 2022 Investment Portfolio report, Hygrovest said SCH’s financial results continue to improve via organic growth of the core business and expansion into non-cannabis medicines.

SCH, which owns Freshleaf Analytics, CA Clinics and Applied Cannabis Research, achieved quarter-on-quarter revenue growth of more than 10%, with EBITA margins improving with scale to a target of 20-25%.

The report said SCH could be in a position to pay dividends in 2023 if it chooses to amid “significant M&A interest” in the business from existing industry players and new entrants.

Prior to launching Cannabiz, Martin was co-founder and CEO of Asia-Pac’s leading B2B media and marketing information brand Mumbrella, overseeing its sale to Diversified Communications in 2017. A journalist...

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