Global pharmaceutics and cannabis healthcare company Althea Group (ASX: AGH) has harnessed the power of telehealth through COVID-19, almost doubling web-based enquiries for their MyAccess Clinics in the UK where patients can seek medicinal cannabis treatment pathways. 

With the England being one of the harder nations hit by COVID-19, Althea accelerated telehealth offerings for its two clinics which received 673 web-based enquiries over the past two month, up from 339, and a 94% conversion rate from completed patient consultations to prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.

Progression towards wide adoption of medicinal cannabis is advancing rapidly in the UK where My Access Clinics has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Drug Science, a scientific committee which is conducting Project Twenty21 – the UK’s first national pilot for medical cannabis which aims to enroll 20,000 patients before the end of 2021. 

Under terms of the MOU, Drug Science can refer patients to MyAccess Clinics for inclusion and treatment in Project Twenty21 which will secure an initial £150 consultation fee and then £50 for follow-up consults. 

 “We are very pleased with the progress MyAccess Clinics is making in the UK, despite the challenges caused by COVID-19,” said Althea CEO, Josh Fegan.  

“Project Twenty21 will not only create additional patient consultation opportunities for our clinics, but will also yield valuable data that can be used to strengthen the case for wider use of cannabis-based medicines and the need for reimbursement through the NHS. 

“We are excited to be participating in the project and are pleased to see UK patients gaining increasing access to Althea’s high-quality medical cannabis products.”

Further strengthening Althea’s footprint in the UK medicinal healthcare market, the Care Quality Control Commision (CQC) has recently approved five new MyAccess Clinic locations which will see new locations opened in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, as well as a second London location. 

For the quarter ending 31 March 2020, Althea reported $1.5 in revenue at a net operating loss of $2.7m. However the Company is well positioned for growth from its clinics and cannabis products with $15m cash as they prepare to enter the German market where 90% of the 82 million population is covered by public health insurers.