Medlab Shares Soar on Licence Approval

Shares in Medlab Clinical have soared 27 per cent after the company obtained a licence to sell and supply medical marijuana in Australia.

Medlab shares reached a record high of $1.15 on Wednesday before closing at $1.03, a gain of 22 cents in the session, after the Victorian government granted the company permission to sell its cannabis-based drug, NanaBis, in other states.

A licence was required by the state government as NanaBis is manufactured in and distributed from Victoria.

Chief executive Sean Hall said the company is working on ensuring medical practitioners, government and industry stakeholders are confident in prescribing its products.

“This licence to sell, combined with the recently renewed import licence, gives Medlab a significant advantage in being able to assist the medical community in treating advanced cancer pain,” Mr Hall said in a statement.

The federal government last week gave medicinal cannabis producers the green like to begin exports, saying the move would help the developing domestic market to grow further amid increasing competition from imports.

Medlab said it would be selling NanaBis under the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Special Access Scheme to patients with specific needs by late February.

Medlab listed on the share market in July 2015 at 20 cents a share, and now has a market value of more than $186 million.