Australian healthcare strategist Melanie Wentzel has been named Top Healthcare Strategist of 2026 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP), an invitation-only organisation based in the United States.
IAOTP cited Wentzel's leadership, influence across the industry, and her ongoing contributions to healthcare strategy, policy, and reform as the basis for the recognition.
Over more than a decade, Wentzel has worked across healthcare reform, public policy, and the global cannabis sector, delivering projects for both government and private organisations around the world.
In 2025, she published Cannabis Queens, an independent project examining women's roles in the global cannabis industry. The book has since reached 16 countries and been referenced by clinicians and policymakers.
Wentzel said the award was determined by a small IAOTP board, with recipients unable to nominate, apply, or pay for consideration.
"It's a pretty incredible honour and has already boosted my US visibility," she said.
She will be formally inducted at IAOTP's annual awards ceremony in New York this December.
Neurotech International
Neurotech has had clinical and mechanistic data for its broad-spectrum cannabinoid drug therapy NTI164 published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurotherapeutics.
The publication covered findings from a sub-cohort of patients enrolled in the company's Phase I/II trial in paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), together with a multi-omics analysis of immune and epigenetic pathways.
Managing director and chief executive Dr Anthony Filippis said the publication represented another key piece of validation for both Neurotech and NTI164.
