GFI Sees Growth In Australian Medical Cannabis Prescriptions

Greenfern Industries' GMP medicine prescription sales in the Australian market are going from strength to strength.

The company began distribution of its GFI Pharma-branded medicinal cannabis oil tinctures with Australian partner Cannvalate in November 2021. Since then, GFI has seen an average new patient increase of 42% month on month with an average return patient rate of 27% month on month.

This year-to-date GFI has more than 500 patients prescribed to their medicines. Of those, 144 have returned one or more times.

Managing director Dan Casey said the company had seen a significant uplift in the month of May with GFI Pharma CBD100 medicine becoming available with 158 new patients in the month of May alone.

"This adds to our already available Balanced Plus 12.5:12.5CBD/THC and our THC25 medicines. With new products currently in manufacturing we're looking to see the growing patient base into the second quarter of this year.

"We will look to bring these products, which are full spectrum (meaning they have trace elements of other cannabinoids in the formulation), to the New Zealand market pending MedSafe approval in the future."

Australia's legal cannabis market is expected to reach USD$375.7 million by 2028 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 32.7% from 2021 to 2028.

Clinical trials update

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) statistics recently released show that patients being prescribed medicinal cannabis are getting younger with 18–44-year-olds making up 59% of the market.

Interestingly prescriptions for anxiety have trebled in its market share from 10% in early 2020 to 31% in 2022.

"This is perhaps a sign of the current times, but it also reinforces our clinic trials pathway for over-the-counter CBD perusing an anxiety indication," Dan said.

"Our clinical trial protocols are currently in the writing phase and a successful outcome will lead to a share of what is destined to be an AUD$250 million market at maturity. With the deidentified patient data sets that we acquire as part of the prescriber process, we are gathering valuable indication data that will position us well for directions of future clinical trial pathways."

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