The MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) share price is charging higher on Tuesday.
In early trade, the cannabis company's shares are up 11.5% to 6.7 cents.
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Why is the MGC Pharma share price charging higher?
Investors have been bidding the MGC Pharma share price higher on Tuesday following the release of a positive update on its UK operations.
According to the release, the company's CannEpil+ product has been approved for UK import and prescription by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
CannEpil+ is a biosimilar effect-identical product of CannEpil, which is a phytocannabinoid treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy. The release notes that the approval was facilitated by its UK distribution and clinical access partner, Elite Pharmaco.
It notes that this will be the first time that UK authorities have approved an epilepsy treatment that is on a clinical pathway containing THC. This is in response to the urgent need of some patients to have access to a clinical product which has demonstrated its efficacy at treating drug-resistant epilepsy.
CannEpil+ will initially be used to treat ten patients in the UK who suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy. MGC Pharma will be providing CannEpil+ free of charge to these patients on compassionate grounds for six months.
Management commentary
MGC Pharma's Co-Founder and Managing Director, Roby Zomer, commented: "The approval for the import of CannEpil+ to the UK and the associated compassionate prescriptions is an important step towards our global roll out of the treatment, and our continued commitment to patients. Achieving MHRA approval has been an ongoing process for some time with our UK partner Elite Pharmaco, and we expect the first patients in the UK to begin treat with CannEpil+ in the coming months."
"The development of our Data Collection App will optimise our understanding of both CannEpil, CannEpil+ and other future treatments, and ultimately provide patients with a better treatment for Refractory Epilepsy, and therefore improving their quality of life. It is also a vitally important foundation for building strong relationships with UK medical regulators and health organisations which will benefit MGC Pharma going forward, as we look to roll out further clinical trials and products in the UK," he added.
The MGC Pharma share price is now up over 200% in 2021.
