A first-of-its-kind fully digital dispensing collaboration for medical cannabis is coming to the UK via a partnership between Akanda, Phlo Connect and Cellen Life Sciences.
Akanda has announced that its UK import and distribution subsidiary CanMart has partnered with Phlo Connect and Cellen Life Sciences to create a fully digital dispensing collaboration for medical cannabis.
The strategic partnership is set to strengthen CanMart’s existing partnership with Cellen’s digital Leva Clinic and expand its route to market in the UK. The dispensing model is fully digital and aims to improve the experience for UK medical cannabis patients.
Phlo Connect integrates digitally with CanMart to deliver prescriptions to patients throughout the United Kingdom. Initially, patients will secure prescriptions through the Leva Clinic, with product transferred through CanMart to Phlo Connect.
Patients can then schedule delivery to their home or office. Phlo Connect is an API-driven digital pharmacy infrastructure provider that connects prescribers, pharmacies and patients for an end-to-end digital experience. Phlo Connect offers a 120-minute delivery service in London and Birmingham and next-day delivery across the UK. The process will be increasingly seamless for patients in the near future as Phlo Connect, Leva Clinic, and CanMart build additional digital interconnections, Akana said.
“Akanda is committed to expanding access to high quality products for anyone in need, and that is qualified in the United Kingdom, a growing market for medical cannabis,” said Tej Virk, CEO of Akanda. “Phlo Connect and Cellen are the ideal partners to make this happen, combining the UK’s first fully digital pharmacy with a digital dispensing model that is easy to use, secure, and real-time.
“In the nascent UK medical cannabis market, patients currently suffer from excess friction as the prescription process, and last mile delivery is disjointed.
“We firmly believe that our solution is the best way to satisfy patients and get our 1P and 3P-supplied medical cannabis in their hands quickly and conveniently, which will greatly improve the patient experience.”
The partnership with Phlo Connect builds on CanMart’s existing partnership with Cellen, a health tech company that provides treatment to chronic pain patients through its digital pain clinic, Leva Clinic, as well as through partners including the NHS, Boots and others.
The Leva Clinic, which is licensed and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (“CQC”), is one of the first fully digital pain clinics in the UK.
The Leva Clinic supports patients through personalised online care plans. Cellen is also a medical cannabis supplier to Project Twenty21, the large-scale medical cannabis observational study monitored by Drug Science that aims to improve access to medical cannabis for those in need.
“We believe partnering with CanMart and Cellen will be a game-changer for medicinal cannabis patients here in the UK. By integrating with both CanMart and Cellen via our API-driven pharmacy platform, we believe that this partnership is the first truly end to end digital experience for medicinal cannabis patients in the UK,” commented Adam Hunter, CCO of Phlo Connect.
“Our patients require access to new high-quality products without the friction and hassle of traditional dispensing services. This partnership is another example of our continuing efforts to build on our national, established relationships with the wider pharmaceutical community in innovative ways. We believe that CanMart’s access to high quality products as well as Phlo Connect’s extensive capabilities in dispensing will go a long way to helping our service to our patients.”
