WEED WEEK: Wellnex teams up with Chemist Warehouse for new cannabis products

Chemist Warehouse joins WNX JV to develop new cannabis products
Neurotech launches new clinical program for its NTI164 drug in Rett Syndrome
InhaleRx nabs approval for Phase 1 IRX211 clinical trial for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Wellness brand and product manufacturer Wellnex Life (ASX:WNX) has added Chemist Warehouse to its SAS-B medicinal cannabis joint venture (JV) alongside OneLife Botanicals.

Chemist Warehouse will receive 10% equity in the JV, which will initially launch five new medicinal cannabis products under a new jointly developed and owned brand with the leading pharmacy retailer.

“The products will be distributed through Chemist Warehouse’s extensive network, as well as additional pharmacy wholesalers and pharmacies,” CEO George Karafotias said.

“We are excited to be entering a rapidly transforming industry which is seeing surging consumer demand with growing recognition of the legitimacy of cannabis-based medicine by patients and prescribers.”

The Special Access Scheme Category B (SAS-B) allows medical practitioners to prescribe medicinal cannabis products to patients not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

The medicinal cannabis market in Australia continues to expand year-on-year both in revenue and patients, with projected sales increasing 84% in 2022 to ~$423 million.

According to FreshLeaf Analytics data, the number of patients using medicinal cannabis increased by 133% to a projected 105,000 patients in 2022.

Growth of this market is expected to continue in the years ahead – and the company also plans to be one of the first to enter the over-the-counter (OTC) medicinal cannabis market under the Schedule 3 (S3) classification.

Wellnex expects the S3 market – which removes the prescription requirement hurdle for consumers – to be significantly larger than the SAS-B market, representing a significant market opportunity.

The first of new products is set to be delivered by the end of FY23.

Wellenex will also distribute the products to additional pharmacy channels that will complement the extensive Chemist Warehouse network.

ASX WEED STOCKS

Code	Company	Price	% Year	% Six Month	% Month	% Week	Market Cap
IRX	Inhalerx Limited	0.05	-41%	-15%	-12%	61%	$9,488,348
MXC	Mgc Pharmaceuticals	0.01	-60%	-41%	11%	25%	$28,664,473
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.067	-63%	-39%	-7%	18%	$16,309,528
AGH	Althea Group	0.05	-75%	-40%	-7%	16%	$18,068,949
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.009	-25%	-18%	-18%	13%	$16,540,824
HGV	Hygrovest Limited	0.069	11%	3%	-1%	6%	$15,636,871
LGP	Little Green Pharma	0.19	-54%	-27%	9%	6%	$51,321,521
CAN	Cann Group Ltd	0.145	-43%	-44%	-19%	4%	$54,172,281
CTV	Colortv Limited	0.008	-68%	0%	0%	0%	$1,236,985
WFL	Wellfully Limited	0.015	-70%	-52%	0%	0%	$5,867,223
LV1	Live Verdure Ltd	0.145	-55%	-42%	-9%	0%	$13,137,654
ECS	ECS Botanics Holding	0.02	-26%	-9%	-23%	0%	$23,241,344
SCU	Stemcell United Ltd	0.013167	0%	0%	0%	0%	$14,995,837
ROODA	Roots Sustainable	0.012	-82%	-67%	-50%	0%	$1,039,220
MRG	Murray River Grp	0.245	0%	0%	0%	0%	$10,808,210
RGI	Roto-Gro Intl Ltd	0.22	0%	0%	0%	0%	$4,333,920
EPN	Epsilon Healthcare	0.02	-58%	-13%	-13%	0%	$6,007,080
AC8	Auscann Grp Hlgs Ltd	0.04	-38%	0%	0%	0%	$17,621,884
MDC	Medlab Clinical Ltd	6.6	-53%	-45%	0%	0%	$15,071,113
EVE	EVE Health Group Ltd	0.001	-40%	-33%	0%	0%	$5,274,483
CGB	Cann Global Limited	0.021	-25%	-2%	0%	0%	$5,436,345
VIT	Vitura Health Ltd	0.385	33%	-36%	-27%	-4%	$211,482,187
EMD	Emyria Limited	0.1725	-50%	-30%	-22%	-4%	$51,044,463
CPH	Creso Pharma Ltd	0.0105	-82%	-70%	-25%	-5%	$21,365,077
BOT	Botanix Pharma Ltd	0.105	48%	63%	35%	-5%	$119,426,390
TSN	The Sust Nutri Grp	0.017	-88%	-88%	-11%	-6%	$2,392,969
ALA	Arovella Therapeutic	0.034	-15%	31%	6%	-6%	$27,199,712
ZLD	Zelira Therapeutics	0.95	-70%	-34%	-10%	-7%	$10,779,797
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.022	-54%	-21%	-15%	-8%	$6,641,577
WNX	Wellnex Life Ltd	0.067	-44%	-17%	-1%	-9%	$28,132,905
RNO	Rhinomed Ltd	0.09	-51%	-45%	0%	-10%	$26,571,932
EOF	Ecofibre Limited	0.18	-55%	-22%	-28%	-10%	$62,858,619
DTZ	Dotz Nano Ltd	0.205	-41%	-21%	-9%	-11%	$101,503,372
NTI	Neurotech Intl	0.051	0%	-43%	2%	-12%	$48,065,022
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.15	-76%	-71%	-30%	-14%	$19,961,175
IHL	Incannex Healthcare	0.115	-84%	-62%	-18%	-15%	$174,571,139
BOD	BOD Science Ltd	0.05	-66%	-39%	-29%	-23%	$7,656,075

Only 8 companies were in the green, with 13 flat and 16 stocks in the red.

Here are some more cannabis stocks with notable news:

NEUROTECH (ASX:NTI)

The company has launched a new clinical program in Rett Syndrome, and will commence the Phase 2 clinical trial of daily oral NTI164 in females aged 5-20 years old with Rett Syndrome at two prestigious centres in Australia.

The company says it expects to submit the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) application before the end of this quarter.

Rett Syndrome is a rare genetic neurological and developmental disorder, and is almost exclusively the result of a mutations in the methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene located on the X chromosome, which is required for normal brain development and function.

Rett Syndrome occurs almost exclusively in girls, with incidence of one in 10,000 female live births. The prevalence is approximately 15,000 girls and women in the US and 350,000 globally.

INHALERX (ASX:IRX)

Alfred Health HREC has approved the Phase 1 clinical trial investigating safety and pharmacokinetics of IRX211 – a cannabinoid derived drug dronabinol (THC) delivered via inhalation in a fixed dose to address Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

“There’s a growing trend whereby patients are using cannabinoids to treat existing conditions for a range of pain disorders,” CEO Darryl Davies said.

“There is an increasing amount of data available that shows promise for THC being used for pain management.

“The unique design of this device-drug combination will allow for patients to have a rapid onset solution to assist with managing breakthrough pain episodes.”

The trial will be conducted at Nucleus Network in Melbourne, Australia, with data applicable to the Phase 2 program and ultimately for the regulatory submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a New Drug Approval (NDA).

The treatment of CRPS has a global annual market size exceeding US$7.08b per annum, and CRPS is also eligible for an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD), which has a number of commercial advantages, including data exclusivity post NDA.

Patient recruitment is anticipated to commence in May 2022.

EMYRIA (ASX:EMD)
Emyria says 50 patients have been successfully enrolled and over 100 patients successfully screened in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to support the registration of EMD-RX5 as an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine.

EMD-RX5 is a solid capsule of ultra-pure CBD, with the company targeting TGA registration as an OTC treatement for the symptoms of mild stress and anixiety for patients with a chronic health condition.

Recruitment and dosing are expected to accelerate, supported by Emyria’s Emerald Clinics and final two sites (of a total of 9), and based in ACT and SA, to commence dosing this week.