MedTEC Pharma eyes IPO following $10m contract

An emerging medicinal cannabis company has put the Riverland at the centre of its plans to become a major supplier in the fast-growing industry.

Medicinal cannabis hopeful MedTEC Pharma is eyeing an IPO as early as next year after signing a $10m product supply contract with a major pharmaceutical company.

Established in 2019 through a multimillion dollar seed investment by co-founders Brad Gallard and Richard Barrett, the company has since developed a 20ha cultivation and production site in South Australia’s Riverland region, and is working with research groups to deliver clinical evidence for the commercialisation of medicinal cannabis products.

The company’s initial focus will be on supplying into the domestic Australian market where patients currently have access to medicinal cannabis through the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Special Access Scheme.

According to figures from the TGA, medicinal cannabis approvals have surged to more than 10,000 per month, representing a five-fold increase since 2019.

However according to Mr Barrett, the company’s chief executive who has spent 25 years working in the health and manufacturing sectors, a large number of subscriptions were still not being filled due to a lack of affordability and limited supply.

MedTEC Pharma co-founder and chief executive Richard Barrett, co-founder and chief operating officer Brad Gallard, advisory board member Anna McClure and chief commercial officer Dirk Beelen at the company’s Riverland facility. Picture: Supplied by MedTEC Pharma

“Medicinal cannabis will be a $US25bn industry globally by 2026, and Australia alone is growing at 100 per cent over the last 12 months,” he said.

“Our initial focus will be to serve the high-demand chronic and neuropathic pain markets, but we will also develop adjacent solutions for sleep, appetite and anxiety.

“Our business approach, supported by the strategic partnerships we have in place, will allow the medicinal cannabis industry to eventually reflect the same high levels of scientific rigour and development maturity that characterise the most advanced speciality fields of medicine.”

MedTEC is fully licensed by the federal government for the cultivation, manufacture, research and development of medicinal cannabis.

The company is funded primarily by a group of South Australian investors, and is currently open to more investment in the lead up to its planned IPO in 2023 or 24.

Agribusiness and patent specialist Mark Harvey chairs the company’s advisory board, which also includes former SA Health Commission chief executive Ray Blight and SA Pharmacy executive director Anna McClure.

The company did not disclose the name of its first major customer, but said it was a “world leading pharmaceutical business” that had agreed to a $10m, three-year supply contract for cannabis biomass to be delivered from MedTEC’s Riverland production hub.

Mr Gallard, a third-generation citrus grower in the region and MedTEC chief operating officer, is overseeing the current crop of plants, which will be used for research.

He said the Riverland offered some of the world’s most suitable terroir to grow cannabis crops, using advanced sun-grown horticulture methods.

“Our facility is located in rich fertile soils in the Riverland, which has a fantastic climate to produce a gold-class standard of product for international and domestic markets,” he said.

MedTEC is working with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the Waite Institute, the Gianneschi Group in the US and other research organisations to explore emerging technologies and applications for medicinal cannabis as demand grows.

Mr Barrett said the company’s ambition was to help facilitate the transition of medicinal cannabis from a niche industry to one that enjoys global medical and pharmaceutical industry acceptance.

“Our five-year partnership with SAHMRI will focus on the delivery of evidence-based results to support the entry of medicinal cannabis products onto the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, meaning that health professionals will be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis products with confidence.”

SAHMRI executive director Professor Steve Wesselingh said the collaboration would support the state government’s Health and Medical Industries (HMI) Sector Plan, which aims to more than double the sector’s economic contribution to the state, from $2.3bn to $5bn, by 2030.

“Medicinal cannabis is an exciting new sector in population health and our partnership with MedTEC Pharma provides us with the opportunity to contribute to ongoing research and development at the highest level,” Professor Wesselingh said.