MediPharm deal brings Wellnex Life closer to offering over-the-counter medical cannabis

Wellnex Life (ASX: WNX) has announced its joint venture partner OneLife Botanicals has acquired one of Australia’s leading cannabis manufacturing facilities, MediPharm Labs Australia.

The acquisition will bring the joint venture closer to its aim of becoming the first to offer an over-the-counter medical cannabis product in Australia.

It also enables Wellnex to enter the Special Access Scheme (SAS) market with product expected to be available by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

Wellnex revealed its intention to enter the medicinal cannabis market in June and announced its joint venture with OneLife in July. OneLife is a Victoria-based cannabis producer and manufacturer licensed to generate up to 20 tonnes of product per year.

The assets being acquired by OneLife under this latest deal include MediPharm’s Australian facility, specialised licensing, operational knowledge, and Australian and New Zealand customers currently served from the facility.

Wellnex chief executive officer George Karafotias said the acquisition opens up a “new, untapped market for medicinal cannabis products that don’t require a prescription and has considerable demand”.

End of 2023 target for Schedule 3 registration

Wellnex confirmed it has commenced the process to obtain registration of medicinal cannabis products under the Schedule 3 classification, which would allow pharmacists to dispense medicinal cannabis products without the need for a prescription.

The company anticipates registration to be completed by the end of the 2023 calendar year.

Under its joint venture, Wellnex will be issued a 4% stake in OneLife upon obtaining this Schedule 3 approval.

“We are keenly focused on being one of the first companies to deliver a Schedule 3 product to the market,” Mr Karafotias said.

“Upon TGA approval of an S3 product, Wellnex will have access to an end-to-end supply chain to deliver high-quality medicinal cannabis over the counter to Australians,” he added.

Share purchase plan meets raise target

Wellnex also today confirmed it has received strong shareholder support for its recent share purchase plan with the raise target of $2 million now met.

The plan offered shares priced at $0.075 each, which at the time of launch was a 19.7% discount to the company’s five-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).

Closure of the plan has been extended to 17 October to allow eligible shareholders additional time to submit applications and arrange settlement in light of recent public holidays and postal delays, Wellnex said on Monday.

Funds were planned to advance the joint venture with OneLife and help build the inventory required for launching new products.