ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals’ breakthrough cannabis-based epilepsy treatment is on track to be available to Australian patients from 2018.
MGC said on Wednesday that it had taken a major stride in providing its unique medical marijuana derived epilepsy product, CannEpil, to the over 70,000 Australians suffering from drug resistant epilepsy.
In a market update, the ASX junior said it had signed a binding heads of agreement with Australian pharmaceutical distributor, HL Pharma, that would bring the breakthrough drug to market from the first quarter of next year.
The final agreement between the two local medical players will be finalised within the next two weeks, MGC said.
Under the proposed deal, which MGC sees as a significant revenue generator through 2018 and beyond, the company will build a patient network by working with a growing bank of doctors who are authorised to prescribe marijuana-based medicines.
The Perth-listed company already has strong links within peak body Epilepsy Action Australia and plans to leverage industry relationships to grow its doctor and patient list of CannEpil users.
MGC said an agreement with Melbourne-based HL Pharma would generate about $1 million a year from next year utilising just five doctors working with fewer than 100 already-registered patients.
MGC CEO Roby Zomer added: “This agreement is pivotal for MGC Pharmaceuticals. It sets in place the timeline for bringing our first medical cannabis products to Australian patients, in the form of our affordable epilepsy product, CannEpil, and sees us commencing sales in the Australian market.”
“HL Pharma has a strong profile in the specialty pharma space and we are excited to be working towards the delivery of our first order in the coming months.”
MGC said that CannEpil would be administered to patients as an oral medication and would retail for under $800 -- a significantly lower cost than its competitor products currently on the market.
Whilst many other medical marijuana hopefuls are still trying to work out how to make money from the industry, MGC are busy locking down purchase orders as they carve out a niche for themselves as a market leader.
Management said the company was currently manufacturing the first batch of CannEpil in order to meet HL Pharma’s first order of 170 50mL bottles.
The upbeat announcement comes after MGC’s recent landmark $40 million deal with Korean cosmetic manufacturer Varm Cosmo.
That agreement will see MGC’s cannabis based dermatological products distributed via Varm Cosmo’s extensive distribution network in the rapidly developing Asian nation which boasts a cosmetics market worth around $14 billion annually.
By Matt Birney
