Wellnex Life has brought Chemist Warehouse into its joint venture with OneLife Botanicals as the company works toward launching medicinal cannabis products under the Special Access (SAS-B) Scheme.
Through its arrangement with OneLife, Wellnex is working to develop a low-dose soft-gel capsule targeting pain treatment. The company has publicly stated its goal of being "one of the first companies to offer an over-the-counter medical cannabis product in Australia".
As part of the new structure, Chemist Warehouse will take a 10% stake in the joint venture.
Wellnex informed the ASX that it plans to launch five medicinal cannabis products under a new brand across the Chemist Warehouse retail network.
The company said the product range had been developed "with consideration to the best-selling products currently in the market" across a variety of formats, and that it would also be made available through other wholesalers and pharmacies.
Separately, Wellnex has signed an exclusive agreement with Australian-developed cannabis health app OnTracka to build a new telehealth application designed to connect patients with Authorised Prescribers and suitable cannabis products.
Wellnex 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."
Creso Pharma
Creso Pharma has been officially sanctioned by the ASX in connection with an unauthorised share issue linked to founder and former chairman Adam Blumenthal.
The ASX determined that Creso had committed a "serious breach" of listing rule 10.11 through a A$5 million share placement handled by Blumenthal's broking firm EverBlu Capital. That rule covers transactions involving related parties.
Creso accepted the decision but maintained that it did not believe a formal censure was warranted, adding that it had since introduced measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
The company said that during FY22 it brought on new CEO and managing director William Lay along with new executive and non-executive directors, lifting its board independence from 17% to 43%. It expects the board to be majority independent by the close of FY23.
Lay told shareholders: "The company's new board and management have since undertaken a thorough review of its internal processes, particularly focused on the settlement of placements.
"Upon completion of this review, Creso Pharma has implemented a refreshed set of controls to ensure a breach would not occur again in the future.
"Management have also committed to regularly evaluate in-house practices as part of an ongoing review and focus on corporate governance.
"With this matter now resolved, the company looks forward to focusing on growth initiatives which are expected to unlock value for shareholders over the course of FY23 and beyond."
MGC Pharmaceuticals
MGC Pharmaceuticals has enrolled its first UK patient into the ZAM app, allowing the company to gather data from an observational study tracking the effects of its CannEpil epilepsy treatment.
The app will log patient symptoms and treatment outcomes on a daily basis, giving both doctors and MGC a more detailed picture of how CannEpil affects refractory epilepsy. It will also allow for the prescription of alternative medications following a consultation.
MGC Pharma managing director Roby Zomer said: "The enrolment of the first patient… in the UK enables us to fully record the impact and efficacy of our products undergoing trials.
"Consolidation of data is of paramount importance in ensuring the safety and efficiency of MGC's proprietary products, and we see the integration of both pharma and tech as a revolution in the clinical trial process."
The ZAM app was built through a joint venture with developer Caba Tech.
Zelira Therapeutics
Zelira has completed a placement to raise A$1.77 million in support of its ongoing clinical trial program.
The company said the capital would provide additional working capital to advance its 'multiple shots on goal' strategy, moving its proprietary formulations through US Food and Drug Administration clinical trials.
CEO Oludare Odumosu added: "We are very pleased with our successful direct capital raise and thank our existing investors that participated as well as welcoming new US-based investors onto the company's register."
He said the backing reflected investor confidence in the company's capacity to build "meaningful long-term value" for both shareholders and patients.
Settlement is expected on March 17.
