The Cannabis Supply Chain
How innovations in the supply chain are having a positive impact on the delivery of medical cannabis for patients in the UK.
Ed McDermott | Managing Director, UK EMMAC Life Sciences Group
With a reported 1.4 million people in the UK accessing cannabis illegally to self-medicate a diagnosed medical condition, it is clear that for many patients, the black market has remained a necessary port of call for them to access their ‘medicine’. Whilst fraught with not only a question of compromised morals, but also very real concerns regarding product quality and personal safety to access, it appears that the new legal framework, allowing access to medical cannabis on prescription, has still not been a viable option for many. At EMMAC Life Sciences Group, addressing the challenges facing patients in the UK and across Europe has been a primary focus since our inception in 2018. What has become increasingly obvious in recent years is that price, accessibility and sustainability of product is of paramount importance. Of course, there exist other challenges, but ultimately, in order to be preferred to the black market there is a clear requirement for consistent, high quality products priced similarly or less and a simple route to access and availability.
When UK legislation changed in 2018 to permit the prescription of legal cannabis, unfortunately a clear path to prescription and product did not follow. A fragmented legal framework, complicated prescription processes gated by specialist doctors, a pervasive lack of education and mistrust of cannabis and its benefits, conspired to leave the industry struggling to make meaningful steps forward in terms of patient access; all of this, compounded by the fact that it was made clear from the outset that that patients would be required to self-pay for their medicine. In the UK this is the opposite to what patients are used to and for many, resulted in a harrowing choice between financial hardship, the black market, the continued reliance on traditional pharmaceutical products which often came at the cost of unwanted side effects, or stopping medication altogether. From a public perspective cost was identified as a barrier to access in the 2019 NHS England report. We are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel with the news last year of Billy Caldwell receiving his first prescription on the NHS, however these stories are still few and far between. The objective for us all working in the industry is to make sure that these medicines are at an accessible price point for all those that need them.
In the last 12 months EMMAC has focused on solving these key patient challenges relating to price, access and sustainability. Driving innovation and efficiencies through our vertically integrated business model means that we have complete control of our supply chain;
Our cultivation site in Portugal
Our extraction facilities in Spain
Our manufacture and distribution facilities here in the UK in North East England
To date, many patients have received most of their products from countries that offer poor climates to grow cannabis at economically viable levels to supply self-paying patients. Once the medicinal cannabis product has been grown, extracted and processed to the standards required by regulators it then has to travel to its distribution destination, go through a wholesaler or distributor who will be adding their margin. It’s very clear owning this part of the supply chain enables us to create cost efficiencies and allow the vertically integrated set up to pass those cost savings on to patients, while still building a robust and sustainable business. By removing the “middle man” and associated margin increases that have been the case for patients in the past we have been able to drive down costs, addressing a primary patient concern.
At EMMAC we believe it is our job as an industry leader, to be sustainable operators who can continue to deliver high quality product for patients. We continue to strengthen our business in the belief that the global trend towards the rescheduling of cannabis is ours to deliver upon.
A combination of innovations at the all-important patient facing end of the chain alongside clinical research that provides data to support efficacy of medical cannabis products will be the biggest driver to more patients accessing the products. This innovation matched with a vertically integrated operational machine and a high skilled and experience workforce, is ultimately going to lead to the best possible healthcare for patients.