https://www.fool.com.au/2019/07/15/asx-cannabis-share-althea-has-jumped-535-in-less-than-a-year/
ASX cannabis share Althea has jumped 535% in less than a year
James Mickleboro | July 15, 2019
It has been yet another positive day of trade for the Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price.
In afternoon trade the cannabis company’s shares are up a sizeable 10.5% to a new all-time high of $1.27.
This latest gain means that Althea’s shares have now gained a remarkable 535% since listing on the ASX at 20 cents per share in September.
Why is the Althea share price on fire?
Investors have been snapping up the company’s shares since its IPO thanks to a series of positive developments.
One major development was the receipt of key manufacture and export licences late last year which mean the company now has a full complement of Office of Drug Control cannabis licences.
Since then the company has seen its patient numbers grow at a very quick rate. In fact, the company reached its 1,000-patient milestone in Australia five months ahead of schedule.
But arguably the biggest development has been the company’s successful expansion into the UK market.
In May the company announced the launch of Althea Concierge UK. This is a medical education platform, which was launched in Australia in September 2018, that provides medical education and clinical evidence for healthcare professionals looking to prescribe medicinal cannabis.
The platform supports Althea UK’s entry to the market by streamlining the prescription process and facilitating patient referrals from primary care doctors to Althea UK specialist prescribers.
This led to the company receiving its first patient prescription for Althea medicinal cannabis in the UK last month.
And it is unlikely to be the last. Also announced last month was an agreement with independent scientific committee Drug Science.
According to the release, its UK-based business has furthered its relationship with Drug Science with the goal of increasing the number of patients that can be prescribed medical cannabis in the UK market.
This comes at a time when Drug Science is just about to launch Project TWENTY21, which is the UK’s first national pilot for medical cannabis and aims to enrol 20,000 patients before the end of 2021. Althea looks set to benefit from the pilot as it has been selected to supply, on commercial terms, its range of products to Project TWENTY21.
Things haven’t been quite so positive for rival AusCann Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AC8). A lack of meaningful developments has led to its shares shedding 40% of their value since the start of the year.
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