There’s been plenty of cannabis-related activity in Australia recently – the legal kind – here’s some of what’s been happening on the Australian cannabusiness scene over the past week.
MGC Pharmaceuticals
A European company but ASX listed, MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MGC) announced this week it had reached 600 patient prescriptions across the UK and Australia, a 50% increase in prescription numbers in just two weeks. The company says it has averaged 19 prescriptions issued per business day during the month of October.
“I believe that this is just the beginning of our market penetration and we will be able to sustain this attractive growth trajectory,” said MGC Pharma Co-founder and Managing Director Roby Zomer.
Althea
Importer and producer of medical cannabis Althea Group Holdings (ASX:AGH) reported 2,557 patients have now been prescribed Althea products and the company had achieved unaudited revenue of AUD $755,385 for the quarter ending September, which was up 184% quarter on quarter.
“With strong growth across key metrics at home and accelerating expansion abroad, we feel that we are well-positioned to become a global leader in the supply of high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis products,” said Althea CEO Josh Fegan.
AusCann
Prior stakeholder in AusCann Group Holdings Limited (ASX:AC8) Canopy Growth announced this week it had sold its 42,087,639 shares in AusCann – the Canadian company previously had a 13.2% interest in AusCann.
“The decision to divest our position in AusCann, which we obtained three years ago in exchange for support provided, will allow us to sharpen our focus on our wholly-owned operations in the market, while continuing to collaborate with our partners at AusCann,” said Canopy Growth CEO Mark Zekulin
Canopy Growth says it will continue to collaborate with AusCann on efforts to boost Australian physician understanding and patient access to cannabis products.
Roots
Roots Sustainable Agricultural Technologies Limited (ASX:ROO) stated its upgraded Root Zone Temperature Optimisation (RZTO) cooling system has resulted in.an increase in yield of up to 118 per cent in dry cannabis flowers compared with uncooled crops in a climate-controlled greenhouse in Southern California.
Earlier in the week the company announced a collaboration with Australia’s ClearVue Technologies Ltd (ASX:CPV), which manufactures “solar glass” – window panels that generate electricity. Among the activities to be undertaken, the companies will develop a demonstration self-sustaining greenhouse in Israel.
THC Global
THC Global (ASX:THC) says it has been granted Schedule 8 and Schedule 4 licences for both its Southport and ‘Bundy” facilities in Queensland. This is a prerequisite of being issued Manufacturing Permits, the receipt of which will enable the company to begin cannabis extraction and processing.
