Ann: Neurology & Epilepsy Expert Joins MXC Medical Advisory Board, page-8

Let’s do some fact checking here.
Legislation at a federal level occurred in February 2016. That is only one part of the process. Once the legislation was passed at a federal level, it then had to move to the states.
Victoria was the first to pass legislation in April 2016 however it had a strict clinical trial to begin with, and the legislation specifically had a date of commencing in 2017. The statement that it has been legalised since 2016 is technically true but misleading in that it suggests that patients had access to MM since then; it was not the case at all.
The legislation takes time to pass. Once it is enacted, it takes time to set up supply chains etc. So while 2017 is the year that it began to be available, it has always been only select groups of the population who had access.
For instance, in Victoria in 2017 the focus was only a small group; children with severe epilepsy.
As it is a new drug and a big cultural change, the government has placed very tight restrictions on who can prescribe MM. However, the statement that only one GP is registered, while technically true is again misleading.
As early as March 2017 there were:
“In fact, there are currently 23 Authorised Prescribers in Australia, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Twenty-one of those doctors are based in New South Wales, and there are two in Queensland. All of these doctors are paediatric neurologists. They are authorised specifically to prescribe to children with neurological conditions.”
While GP have not been registered a growing number of specialists are. Take our example of Wendyl who has 3000 patients on his books and times that by 23 and you are at approximately 60000 people with access.
Now there is only 1059 people approved access to MM, which is not a surprise. It is highly regulated. What is for certain is that that has grown from 0 to 1059 in approximately 12 months. Now that products are coming on to the market that will grow. Does anyone expect in 12 months time there only to be 1059 people registered?
Importantly if you read through the media the pathway to access MM is opening up. However the framework for GP is rigid and rightly so. Most GPs don’t feel comfortable prescribing MM as they believe that their own knowledge is not as to the standard it needs to be. Education needs to occur. About 60 percent of GP have been asked by patients about MM. So the public demand is there it is just about the bureaucracy catching up.
There are two methods available to GP, through a special access scheme or by the GP becoming authorised. The latter method is long and as such not many GP have bothered to go down this path.
Interestingly one of the companies approved on the special access scheme is HW pharma. I will be watching the office of drug control to see if/when they update to include cannepil.
Finally the government has been working on an online portal to streamline the process so that patients are able to apply in a more efficient manner. The combination of all the above will obviously result in the market place increasing for all MM providers.
What does all this mean for mxc?
Victoria was first mover in legislation. The first condition it was prescribed for was childhood epilepsy. MXC has just announced that Wendyl Dsouza on the board who works out of St Vincents in Melbourne (incredibly prestigious hospital associated with Melbourne University a top 100 university in the world) who I will beat my house, if he is not already, will be authorised through the authorised prescriber path. Wendyl is a neurologist specialising in epilepsy. An important partnership not only for expertise but also for access to patients. Complemented with Eplipsy Australia 100 there is a “captured” marketplace.
The share price has taken a hammering recently but I honestly believe it is because people don’t see how this company is bringing all the parts together. The disappointment in the quarterly I believe will be repeated in the next one, but after that things should improve.