Global medical cannabis company Khiron Life Sciences is continuing its expansion throughout Latin America and Europe as it grows its global network of medical cannabis treatment clinics.
Khiron has posted record 2022 Q1 numbers that included revenue of $4.6 million, a 65 per cent increase from Q1 2021, as well as record revenue in medical cannabis of over $2.6 million in Q1 2022, a 470 per cent increase from the prior year. Q1 2022 showed an operating cash outflow of 2.8 million against a total receivable of 4.4 million.
Khiron continues to grow with some of its newer operations already becoming profitable and EBITDA positive. Khiron says it is reducing expenses, selling high-margin products and taking a “disciplined” approach to its expansion.
Khiron is serving a record number of patients as it recently reached a cumulative stock of more than 100,000 bottles of medical cannabis sold.  In countries such as Colombia and Germany, Khiron is benefiting from patients’ ability to utilise their health insurance for treatment in its medical cannabis clinics.
In the UK, Khiron has established market leadership with its first two products on the market. The company’s 20/1 THC-predominant strain is one of the best-selling medically prescribed products in the UK.
The wider European market poses an opportunity for Khiron as further countries beyond the UK are legalising medical cannabis. The company currently has its sights set on Germany, which has the potential to have over a million patients by 2024.
In Q1 2022, the UK and Germany represented 53 per cent of all medical cannabis revenue for the firm, compared to 10 per cent in Q1 2021.
The launch of a new product the THC-dominant full-spectrum extract KHIRIOX 25/1 is also on the horizon and will be available to pharmacies and patients in Germany and the UK in the near future. KHIRIOX 25/1 combines the medicinal properties of the established THC isolate formulations (dronabinol) with the specific advantages of a full-spectrum extract, which may have fewer side effects and be better tolerated by patients.
Khiron recently acquired Pharmadrug GmbH, which has provided Khiron with a European manufacturing and distribution centre for cannabinoid-based medicines. Keeping its wholesale fees in-house, the company expects the acquisition to have a direct positive impact on revenues and gross margins.
Headquartered in Bogata, Colombia, Khiron is also expanding its footprint in Latin America where it remains a market leader in medical cannabis, operating across Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Brazil.
With the election of a new pro-cannabis president, Gustavo Petro, Khiron foresees a positive environment for cannabis companies in Colombia. As the only country in Latin America with universal health insurance coverage for medical cannabis, over 82 per cent of Khiron sales were sold through insurance coverage and over 84 per cent of sales were sold to returning patients.
Sales of its products in Peru have grown more than 75 per cent from Q4 in 2021 to Q1 in 2022. Now, Khiron is launching its products in drugstores and pharmacies.
In March 2022, Khiron signed a partnership with Teleton pharmacies in Mexico, allowing it to establish its medical cannabis clinics within Teleton’s network across the country and distribute products in its pharmacies. Teleton has 24 Medical Centers including 22 rehabilitation centres, one autism centre and 1 Children’s Hospital for Cancer) located across the country, and around 600,000 patients with disability, cancer and autism conditions.
Brazil is the most recent market for Khiron’s Latin American expansion. Between late Q2 and early Q3 2022, Khiron will open its first clinic in Rio de Janeiro and expects to achieve its first import of high THC later in the year.
