Pennington Apothecary

Annual Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA Improve by 50% TORONTO, March 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQB: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) ("MediPharm", "MediPharm Labs" or the "Company") a pharmaceutical company specialized in precision-based cannabinoids, today announced its financial results for the full year and three months ended December 31, 2023. Select Highlights Continue Reading Q4 and YE Earnings (CNW Group/MediPharm Labs Corp.) 2023 full year revenue increased approximately 50% to $33M versus prior year of $22M. 2023 full year Adjusted EBITDA(1) improved 50% to negative $10M in 2023 from negative $21M in 2022. Q4 2023 gross profit was $2.2M or 24%. Gross profit showed significant improvement over Q4 2022 of $0.2M or 4%. Q4 2023 Adjusted EBITDA(1) of negative $1.6M improved 55% from negative $3.6M in Q4 2022 and improved over 30% from negative $2.4M in Q3 2023. Adjusted EBITDA(1) continues to improve driven by margin expansion initiatives and cost reductions. Strong balance sheet, relative to many peer companies, with approximately $18M million of cash and less than $3 million of debt as of December 31, 2023. Continued Growth in International Medical Cannabis In Q4 2023, MediPharm completed an in-person inspection from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA). The first cannabis company in North America to complete an in-person inspection for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) cannabis production for Brazil. Brazil, with a population of 215M, has seen tremendous growth in medical cannabis patients with a 480% increase in prescriptions in 20221. MediPharm has two medical cannabis products with ANVISA authorizations and will increase deliveries to a new pharma partner in 2024.(2) In Q4 2023, MediPharm completed the development and initial deliveries of THC isolate, commonly known as Dronabinol, for the European Union market. Subsequent to year-end MediPharm has made deliveries of this product to multiple customers and it anticipates it having a materially positive impact to sales and gross profit. (2) In 2023, MediPharm expanded its top Australian medical cannabis flower brand, Beacon Medical, to include high quality GMP oils and vapes. Australia is the largest medical cannabis market outside of North America which The Pennington Institute (Cannabis in Australia 2023 report) estimates generated over $400m AUD in 2023.2 Progress Towards Profitability MediPharm achieved a 2023 gross margin of 18% versus negative 9% in 2022. Positively moving to 24% in Q4 2023. This improvement is a trend the Company believes will continue. With the success in improving product mix and cost of goods sold MediPharm now has the foundation for a profitable future. Total Opex, which includes general administrative, marketing and selling, and research and development expenses, was reduced by $2M or 10% on a year over year basis, while growing sales by 50% in the same time period. Additional reductions implemented in Q4 2023 will further reduce Opex in 2024. (2)This execution of doing more with less has resulted in a revised cost base, positioning the company for profitability. MediPharm plans to further improve on profitability in 2024 including optimizing facility utilization with additional contract manufacturing, growing sales of healthy margin products, increasing international sales with local pharmaceutical partners, and refreshing the Canadian adult use and wellness portfolio to grow sales in our largest addressable market. Management Commentary David Pidduck, CEO, MediPharm Labs commented, "MediPharm now has the margins, Opex and Adjusted EBITDA results all trending in the right direction. We also have a robust revenue pipeline with multiple partners in multiple markets. The transformation to a profitable growing company continues. Over the years we have invested in our infrastructure as a high quality and high capacity pharmaceutical grade manufacturer, allowing us to grow sales with new opportunities and markets, without additional investment into capital or resources. We are proud of the work completed in 2023 and excited about the future of MediPharm Labs." Greg Hunter, CFO, MediPharm Labs added, "2023 was a transformation year for MediPharm, with the acquisition of VIVO, revenue increased by approximately 50% year over year and expanded our reach into Australia and the Canadian Medical business. Gross margins expanded significantly to 24% in Q4 and OPEX was reduced to produce the best Adjusted EBITDA in 4 years. In Q4, we continued to make progress by improving gross margins, reducing expenses and reducing cash burn as we drive towards profitability. Adjusted EBITDA of negative $1.6 million improved sequentially and year over year and is our best result in over 4 years. In addition, we ended the year with a strong balance sheet with $18 million of cash and less than $3 million of debt. MediPharm is in a strong financial position to capitalize on our strong suite of licences, global customer contracts and assets as we move in to 2024" Financial Summary Q4 2023 Financial Results Conference Call MediPharm's executive management team will also host a conference call and audio webcast on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. eastern time to discuss the Company's financial results. Conference Call: Toll-free number: +1 (888) 330-2379 / International number: +1 (240) 789-2710 Conference ID: 4921762 Participants are asked to dial in approximately 15 minutes before the start of the call. Audio Webcast: An audio webcast will be available by visiting the following link here. For those who are unable to participate on the live conference call or webcast, a replay will be available at approximately one day after completion of the call. About MediPharm Labs Founded in 2015, MediPharm Labs specializes in the development and manufacture of purified, pharmaceutical-quality cannabis concentrates, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and advanced derivative products utilizing a Good Manufacturing Practices certified facility with ISO standard-built clean rooms. MediPharm Labs has invested in an expert, research driven team, state-of-the-art technology, downstream purification methodologies and purpose built facilities with five primary extraction lines for delivery of pure, trusted and precision-dosed cannabis products for its customers. Through its wholesale and white label platforms, MediPharm Labs formulates, develops (including through sensory testing), processes, packages and distributes cannabis extracts and advanced cannabinoid-based products to domestic and international markets. In 2021, MediPharm Labs received a Pharmaceutical Drug Establishment Licence from Health Canada, becoming the only company in North America to hold a domestic Good Manufacturing Licence for the extraction of natural cannabinoids. The Company carries out its operations in compliance with all applicable laws in the countries in which it operates. In 2023, MediPharm acquired VIVO Cannabis Inc. which expanded MediPharm's reach to medical patients in Canada via Canna Farms medical ecommerce platform, and in Australia and Germany through Beacon Medical PTY and Beacon Medical GMBH. This acquisition also included Harvest Medical Clinics in Canada which provides medical cannabis patients with Physician consultations for medical cannabis education and prescriptions. Notes: This is a non-IFRS reporting measure. See "Non-IFRS Measures" below. This is a forward-looking statement and based on a number of assumptions. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" below. Non-IFRS Measures This press release contains references to "Adjusted EBITDA", which is a non-IFRS financial measure. Management believes that this supplementary non-IFRS financial measure provides useful additional information related to the operating results of the Company. This non-IFRS financial measure is not recognized under IFRS and, accordingly, users are cautioned that this measure should not be construed as an alternative to net income (loss) and gross profit determined in accordance with IFRS as measures of profitability or as alternatives to the Company's IFRS-based Financial Statements. The non-IFRS measure presented may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of the Company's overall financial performance and is used as an alternative to earnings or income in some circumstances. Adjusted EBITDA is essentially net income (loss) with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash adjustments and other unusual or non-recurring items added back. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool as it does not include depreciation and amortization expense, interest income and expense, finance fees, gain in revaluation of derivative liabilities, taxes, government grants including rent and wage subsidies, one-off transactions, impairment losses on inventory and on fixed assets and intangibles, write down of deposits and share-based compensation. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as the sole measure of the Company's performance and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of the Company's results as reported under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA, as used within the Company's disclosure, may not be directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA used by other reporting issuers. Adjusted EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning and the Company's method of calculating such non-IFRS measure may not be comparable to calculations used by other companies bearing the same description. The following table reconciles the Company's net operating income (loss) (as reported) and Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented: Notes: This relates to the reversal of a former impairment of a long outstanding receivable. Incremental cost of cannabis inventory acquired in a business combination represents the fair value realized on sale of cannabis inventory acquired in a business combination. This adjustment is for unusual inventory write-downs only and not the total value of inventory written down. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, statements regarding: the Company's progress toward profitability; potential improvements in gross margin and revenue, potential future and annualized savings to be realized as a result of Company's restructuring efforts; growth of the Brazilian medical cannabis market, ability to gain further medical cannabis product approvals in Brazil; the Company's ability to increase deliveries to its Brazil partners in 2024; future German deliveries of THC isolate and the impact of such continued deliveries to the Company's sales and gross profit; Australian medical cannabis market size and growth potential; ability to optimize facility utilization; and ability to grow profitable sales. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the inability of MediPharm to obtain adequate financing; the delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; and other factors discussed in MediPharm's filings, available on the SEDAR+ website at . There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, MediPharm assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. SOURCE MediPharm Labs Corp.

The prevalence of malnutrition across the globe was shared by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a network of health scientists from around the world who provide and evaluate data on major risk factors for all countries, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The network participants reviewed body mass index data from more than 3,600 studies from 1990 to 2022, determining the rates of malnutrition, either from obesity or underweight, for all countries, and the degree to which the data has changed through the years. Obesity is now the most common form of malnutrition in most countries, with the rates rising in all categories of men, women, children and adolescents since 1990. Obesity rates in adult men have nearly tripled since 1990, with obesity rates in woman doubling in that time. The rates of obesity in children and adolescents quadrupled in that time frame, as well. As of 2022, nearly 880 million adults and nearly 160 million children were living with obesity. The prevalence of malnutrition across the globe was shared by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a network of health scientists from around the world who provide and evaluate data on major risk factors for all countries, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, Associate Executive Director of the Population and Public Health Sciences department of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, was an author contributor to this publication. The network participants reviewed body mass index data from more than 3,600 studies from 1990 to 2022, determining the rates of malnutrition, either from obesity or underweight, for all countries, and the degree to which the data has changed through the years. "The current rates of obesity appear overwhelming, but the trend has been moving in this direction for more than three decades," said Dr. Katzmarzyk. "With more than 1 billion people living with obesity, it is important that we do not talk about obesity in a vacuum. We know that obesity can directly lead to comorbidities, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obstructive sleep apnea. By better understanding the root causes of obesity, we can identify ways to prevent, treat or even reverse its adverse effects." Out of the 190-plus countries represented in this study, the United States ranked 10th highest in the world for the prevalence of obesity in men, with an increase in percentage of men from 16.9 percent in 1990 to 41.6 percent in 2022. For women, the obesity rate in 1990 was 21.2 percent, climbing to 43.8 percent in 2022, with ranking 36th highest in the world. For boys, the rate of obesity increased from 11.5 percent in 1990 to 21.7 percent in 2022, ranking the U.S. 26th highest in the world. The rate of obesity for girls in the U.S. ranked 22nd highest in the world, with the rate climbing from 11.6 percent in 1990 to 19.4 percent in 2022. The results echo the prevalence of obesity on granular levels, as in 2020, 38 percent of adults in Louisiana are facing obesity, according to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. "The results of this study resoundingly affirm the value of Pennington Biomedical's mission," said Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. "With the prevalence of obesity growing through the decades, we remain steadfast in our commitment to promote metabolic health, eliminate metabolic disease, discover the triggers of obesity and improve the health of all people. I extend my appreciation and applaud the contribution that Dr. Katzmarzyk made to this important global study." Over the same period, the rates of children, adolescents and adults being underweight fell on a global scale, with the rate of underweight of men in some African countries falling steeply. Both obesity and underweight are forms of malnutrition, with obesity rates higher than the rates of underweight for boys and girls in two thirds of the world's countries. The Pennington Biomedical-led study "International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment," is among the thousands of studies to have informed these results. The study involved more than 6,000 children from all inhabited continents.

Scientific advisory board members include Caroline Apovian, M.D., Louis Aronne, M.D., FACP, Samuel Klein, M.D., Donna Ryan, M.D. and Randy Seeley, Ph.D. CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CinFina Pharma, CinRx Pharma’s portfolio company dedicated to expanding treatment options for obesity and metabolic diseases, today announced the scientific advisory board (SAB) members for the company’s multi-asset pipeline. The members of CinFina’s SAB include renowned metabolic and obesity academic researchers and expert clinicians. The newly formed SAB will help guide the development of CinFina’s promising pipeline of versatile medicines including a long-acting growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) analog and a peptide YY (PYY) analog, both as monotherapy options and chemically combined with a GLP-1 receptor agonist. The pipeline includes CIN-109 and CIN-110, as well as additional early-stage candidates. CIN-109 is a first-in-class GDF-15 analog that has recently completed its multiple ascending dose (MAD) study to assess its safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity following administration of multiple subcutaneous doses in otherwise healthy subjects with obesity. CIN-110 is a potent and selective PYY3-36 analog, for which an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application is being filed with the U.S. FDA with plans for human clinical trials in Q1 2024. “This impressive group of key opinion leaders in the metabolic space will be integral to the future success of our CinFina program as we look to fill the need for differentiated, safe, effective and tolerable treatments for obesity and weight management,” said Dr. Jon Isaacsohn, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CinRx Pharma. “The formation of this SAB is timed with important development milestones for our monotherapy programs, and I believe we can make strong progress to help patients and physicians and address the global health crisis of obesity.” The members of CinFina’s SAB are as follows: Caroline Apovian, M.D. is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and co-director at the Center for Weight Management and Wellness, at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. One of the world’s premier weight management experts, Dr. Apovian has distinguished herself as a leading researcher, healthcare provider, teacher, and The New York Times bestselling author. Nationally, she is one of the founding creators of the American Board of Obesity. Her research interests are weight change and its effects on adipose tissue metabolism and inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular disease, resolution of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the bariatric surgery population, disparities in the treatment of obesity in underserved populations, and novel pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of obesity. Louis Aronne, M.D., FACP is a professor of metabolic research at Weill-Cornell Medical College, and director of the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Clinical Research. Additionally, Dr. Aronne is founder and CEO of BMIQ, a weight control program that is delivered by health care providers to their patients during office visits. Vice-chairman of the board of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, he has authored more than 60 papers and book chapters on obesity and edited the National Institutes of Health Practical Guide to the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. He served as a consultant to the VA Weight Management/Physical Activity Executive Council in the development of the MOVE program, the nation’s largest medically based weight control program. Samuel Klein, M.D. is a professor of medicine and nutritional science at Washington University in St. Louis, and chief of the Division of Nutritional Science and Obesity Medicine. Dr. Klein is past president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. He was inaugural chair of the Integrative Physiology of Obesity and Diabetes NIH study section. His research activities focus on understanding the mechanisms responsible for metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity and the therapeutic effects of weight loss. Donna Ryan, M.D. is a professor emerita at Pennington Biomedical​. Dr. Ryan was principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Defense for a series of awards which targeted military nutrition approaches to improve soldier readiness and performance. Her research interests included lifestyle intervention and diet for weight loss, and she was an investigator on NIH studies including POUNDS Lost, Look AHEAD, DPP, and DASH. She was the co-chair of the SELECT Steering Committee and consults with many companies developing medication and commercial medical interventions for obesity. Randy Seeley, Ph.D. is a director at the Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center. Dr. Seeley’s scientific work has focused on the actions of various peripheral hormones in the central nervous systems (CNS) that serve to regulate food intake, body weight and the levels of circulating fuels. In particular, he has focused upon the numerous hypothalamic and gastrointestinal (GI) peptides and their associated receptors that influence both energy intake as well as peripheral metabolic processes, with a focus on developing new treatment strategies for both obesity and diabetes. About CinFina Pharma: CinFina, a CinRx portfolio company, is expanding the treatment of obesity and its associated comorbidities with a pipeline of therapeutic candidates designed to be safe, tolerable, and durable to help people lose weight and keep it off to improve their overall health. CinFina’s four therapeutic candidates are naturally occurring peptides engineered for prolonged activity which send signals in the body to control insulin secretion or feelings of satiety. About CinRx Pharma: CinRx is a mosaic of biotechnology companies supported by a dedicated funding mechanism designed to improve drug development success and accelerate transformational new medicines to patients. By integrating our deep scientific, clinical, and operational expertise with a thoughtful portfolio model, we establish the optimal development trajectory – a drug development superhighway. The company’s experienced team ensures high-potential medicines are financially and operationally championed with the most efficient route from the lab to the patient. For more information, please visit or follow the company on X and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts Source: CinRx Pharma View this news release online at: