Argent BioPharma
Argent BioPharma (formerly MGC Pharmaceuticals) has released its latest preliminary financial figures for the year to June 30, 2024, revealing a sharp drop in revenues but a reigning in of net losses compared to the previous year.
For the fiscal year, Argent Bio saw revenues dive 74% to A$891,083 compared to A$3.39m in 2023. This decline in revenues was largely down to a drop in pharmaceutical sales.
This represents the second consecutive year of falling pharmaceutical sales, with sales dropping from A$4m to A$2.5m between 2022 and 2023,
However, the company reduced its net losses by 17%, from A$21.13 million to A$17.55 million. This improvement is attributed to strategic changes and operational cost-cutting.
The company’s cash position also improved to A$702,870 from A$239,821, bolstered by a US$8.4m capital raise.
A separate statement from the CEO, published days earlier, offered little explicit detail into the reasons behind this significant drop in revenues.
It’s likely due to a number of factors detailed in the letter, including its focus on restructuring during the year away from the Australian market and towards the UK, Europe and US.
Alongside this long-term strategic realignment, the company states that its flagship cannabis-based products, CannEpil and CimetrA, usually core revenue generators, remain in the early stages of sales, particularly under special access schemes rather than full market launches.
Its CEO, Roby Zomer said: “Focusing on unmet medical needs, we are developing potentially transformative medicines like CannEpil and Cimetra to address critical health challenges. Our refreshed management team will drive our strategic initiatives, aiming for revenue growth, a robust drug pipeline, successful product launches, and operational efficiency.
“I strongly believe that Argent BioPharma is well-positioned for sustained growth and there is a bright future for our company and stakeholders.”
Cantourage
Conversely, Cantourage Group has announced record sales in 2024, revealing that revenues recorded between January and August 2024 were higher than in the full year 2023.
Over the period, Cantourage, which operates in the UK and Germany, reported revenues of €24.9m, up 62% on the same period a year earlier. It also surpassed the €23.6m Cantourage reported in the entirety of 2023.
It attributed this growth to the ‘further expansion of the cannabis flower business in Germany and the UK’, the two fastest-growing medical cannabis markets in Europe.
This included its telemedicine platform, Telecan, in Germany, which has been the key driver of growth since Germany’s ‘partial legalisation’ of cannabis in April.
In August 2024 alone, revenues increased by 188% year-on-year to €4.1m, far surpassing its previous monthly sales record of €4.1m in June 2024.
Looking ahead, Cantourage expects full-year revenues to come between €37m and €43m, and continues to forecast achieving a positive EBITDA for 2024.
“Our current business development clearly shows that we took the right steps in the run-up to the partial legalisation of cannabis in Germany,” Philip Schetter, CEO of Cantourage said.
“In addition to expanding our product range of high-quality cannabis from all over the world, we were also able to expand our production capacities and our partnerships with growers and pharmacies in a timely manner.
“This now enables us to meet the expected increase in demand on a sustainable basis. We are certain that the market for medical cannabis offers enormous opportunities for us now and in the future.”
BAT/Organigram
Canadian cannabis operator Organigram has now closed its second tranche of equity investment from tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT).
In November 2023, BAT announced that it was significantly increasing its investment into Organigram, having first signed a deal in March 2021.
Canadian cannabis producer Organigram has announced a further major investment from tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT).
At the time, this new C$124.6m investment from BAT was cited as a ‘transformative transaction’, bolstering its ‘already strong balance sheet’ and enabling it to accelerate its international growth plans.
According to the company, this deal provided the ‘capital to lay the global foundations as the legal recreational cannabis market continues to see significant growth’.
Last week, Organigram secured C$41.5m from this latest tranche, issuing 4.4m common shares and 8.5 million Class A preferred shares at a price of C$3.22 per share.
The remaining 12,893,175 shares are due to be issued in a third and final tranche on or around February 28, 2025.
When the investment expansion was first announced in November, Organigram stated that the bulk of the investment (C$83.1m) was planned to be put towards a new ‘strategic investment pool’ called Jupiter.
Through this entity, Organigram has already made a US$2 million investment in Open Book Extracts (OBX), a North Carolina-based hemp derivatives provider, and a €14 million (~C$21 million) stake in Sanity Group, a leader in Germany’s medical cannabis market.
Sanity Group holds a 10% market share in Germany, with a distribution network reaching over 2,000 pharmacies and 5,000 physicians.
“With two tranches of the Jupiter pool now funded, combined with our strong balance sheet and targeted investment strategy, Organigram is well on its way to executing on its ambitious growth plan focusing on international, technological and product expansion,” said Paolo De Luca, Chief Strategy Officer of Organigram.
