MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd reports strong financial position as it drives medical

(ASX:MXC, ) said the past half-year has represented “a strategically important period”, as the medical cannabis company achieved a number of strategically important milestones.

Following the London Stock Exchange listing earlier this month and £6.5mln fundraising, directors said the group “is in a strong financial position to pursue identified growth initiatives”.

Driven by sales of its proprietary cannabinoid products, total pharmaceutical sales for the half year to 31 December of A$741,911 compared to A$134,536 a year earlier, though total revenue fell from A$1.8mln the previous year as non-pharma sales were discontinued.

Operating losses were cut to A$5.6mln from A$11.8mln.

There was A$1.5mln of cash on the balance sheet at the end of December, which has been topped up by the London IPO. 

Milestones during the period included an acquisition, first product shipments, expansion of manufacturing facilities and continued clinical progress.

READ: MGC Pharma to start new in-vitro cannabinoid study on glioblastoma brain cancer treatment

In mid-November, MGC Pharma completed the 100% acquisition of the operating telehealth clinic-based assets, data and intellectual property of Medicinal Cannabis Clinics (MCC), where more than 300 patient consultations have been conducted since completion.

Alongside the revenue that will be generated from consultations, MGC said the addition will provide it with an operating platform with both import and export capacity that will significantly expand market access and provide control of the supply chain from manufacturing through to patients.

The acquisition also allows the group to continue providing its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified medications to patients in Australia and further improves profit margins while keeping its products at competitive prices.

In October, MGC Pharma shipped its first batch of MP Line products, its affordable product range, directly to patients in Brazil through a binding supply and distribution agreement with Brazil-based ONIX Empreendimentos e Participaçes.

The company is the first company globally to ship high-THC formulations directly to a patient’s door in Brazil, without the need to visit a pharmacy, under Brazil’s Compassionate Use Program following the receipt of patients’ prescriptions provided by an ONIX referring doctor.

MGC’s first product line, CannEpil, a CBD-based medication that is used as a treatment for people with refractory epilepsy, was also the subject of a distribution agreement with a leading cannabis company in Israel. A CannEpil was also launched recently. 

READ: Cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals soars on food supplement product deal

In December, after qualifying for a cash grant of over €3mln from , the group started to renovate and extend its existing clinical research organisation facility on the Mediterranean island to include a fully functioning GMP certified manufacturing facility for liquid dose form and its COVID-19 anti-inflammatory product, ArtemiC.

Construction is due to be completed in mid-2021 when management expect to be in a position to immediately increase ArtemiC production volumes, which will reduce logistics costs due to Malta’s geographic location and shipping access, which adds to the company’s GMP certified production facility in Slovenia.

In the clinic, MGC Pharma completed its phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anti-inflammatory treatment, ArtemiC, on 50 patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

The results of this trial demonstrating improved health status of treated patients, with none requiring additional oxygen, mechanical ventilation or admission to intensive care, unlike those that only received a placebo.

Following this success, a phase III trial is…