Key Takeaways; Cannabis Sector
- Boston Beer announced the launch of a new line of cannabis-infused iced teas.
- Decibel reported rising revenue in Q1.
- Ayr Wellness reported positive revenue of $111.2 million, up 90% YoY.
Key Takeaways; Psychedelic Sector
- Awakn filed PCT application for the treatment of behavioral addictions.
- The FDA gave Revive Therapeutics positive feedback on the primary endpoint change.
As the cannabis sector evolves, certain trends are beginning to emerge. The most recent one is the sales drop in the first quarter. When many companies presented their first-quarter results, they informed investors that revenues declined after the fourth quarter but were ramping up in the second quarter. With that said, below is a weekly roundup on the cannabis and psychedelics sectors as more companies continued to release their quarterly financial reports this week.
Top Marijuana Companies for Week
#1: Boston Beer
On May 23, 2022, The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM), which is the manufacturer of renowned, high-quality brands like Samuel Adams, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Twisted Tea, announced the launch of TeaPot, a new line of cannabis-infused iced teas. TeaPot will be the company’s first infused beverage, and it will be sold in select Canadian provinces starting in July.
TeaPot combines actual tea with certain cannabis strains to improve its quality. The brand’s initial product is Good Day Iced Tea, which is made with real lemon black tea and infused with Pedro’s Sweet Sativa, a unique cultivar grown in Strathroy, Ontario by licensed producer Entourage Health Corp. (TSXV: ENTG) and marketed only in Canada under the Color Cannabis retail brand.
According to Headset retail figures, Canada’s infused beverage market share has surged by roughly 850 percent since 2020, making it nearly double the size of the US cannabis beverage market. According to TeaPot, the continuous rise of the cannabis beverage sector is encouraging, and they feel it is one of the next innovation frontiers. The brand also stated that they will continue to develop an attractive product pipeline in Canada’s federally controlled market, as they await more progress on US regulations.
#2: Decibel
Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. (TSXV: DB) (OTCQB: DBCCF) released its first-quarter financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2022. Decibel reported overall revenues of $23 million for the quarter, a significant increase over the fourth quarter and a significant increase over previous year’s revenue of $14 million in the same time period in 2021.
Despite the fact that the first quarter is traditionally a seasonally slow period, the company noted that net revenue growth was driven by the launch of Decibel’s new infused pre-roll lines and sustained growth in demand for flower, vape, and concentrate products.
Furthermore, Decibel reported a net loss of $4.37 million in the quarter. The company also said that they generated $2.86 million in revenue from operations, and that they had $7.3 million in net current assets.
Moreover, the company stated that it expects lower working capital requirements in 2022 and that its supply chain is improving. In addition, the company said that it has identified a number of initiatives and capital investments to help increase cash flow generation and manage working capital levels from Q2 2022 onward.
#3: Ayr Wellness
Ayr Wellness Inc. (OTC: AYRWF) announced financial results for the first quarter of 2022, with revenue up 90 percent to $111.2 million from $58 million the previous year. However, sales were down slight from the previous quarter’s $111.8 million. As for the fourth quarter of 2022, Ayr expects to generate $250 million in Adjusted EBITDA, $100 million in operating income, and $800 million in revenue on an annualized basis.
In addition, the company’s net losses were reduced from $16 million in the first quarter of last year to $9 million this year. Moreover, Ayr said it spent $33.2 million on capital expenditures in the first quarter and expects to spend another $37 million in the second half of 2022. The company also said that it had a cash balance of $78.7 million at the end of the quarter.
Top Psychedelic Companies for Week
#1: Awakn
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (OTC: AWKNF), a biotechnology company focused on researching, developing, and commercializing therapeutics to treat addiction, announced the filing of a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application for the treatment of behavioral addictions with ketamine and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy on Thursday, May 26, 2022.
Last week, Awakn reported the successful conclusion of its behavioral addictions study, and the data from this study was included in the patent application. During this study, ketamine was tested as a potential novel treatment for Gambling Disorder, Internet Gaming Disorder, Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder, and Binge Eating Disorder.
PCT covers all behavioral addictions, as well as any recognized disorder or condition with obsessive signs. If the patent filing is approved, Awakn will have exclusive rights to employ ketamine and ketamine-assisted therapy to treat behavioral addictions. And with no effective pharmacological treatments for behavioral addictions currently available worldwide, the study findings and the potential patent filing position Awakn at the forefront of the industry at a time when behavioral addiction rates are rising at an alarming rate and sufferers having few treatment options that in most cases result in poor outcomes.
In response to this significant announcements, Awakn CEO, Anthony Tennyson, said that the announcement illustrated Awakn’s emphasis in researching, developing, and commercializing medications to treat addiction and other behavioral disorders.
#2: Revive Therapeutics
The worldview of Revive Therapeutics Ltd.’s (CSE: RVV) (OTC: RVVTF) Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of Bucillamine in the treatment of COVID-19 graced on Thursday, May 26, 2022, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appeared to be favorable to the company’s request to change the trial’s primary endpoints.
On May 16, 2022, Revive Therapeutics requested that the FDA determine and agree on a study that evaluated the safety and efficacy of Bucillamine, which an oral drug with anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Revive wanted FDA to assess the study’s potential new primary efficacy endpoints, such as the rate of sustained clinical resolution of COVID-19 symptoms, and thus have more meaningful study endpoints for the FDA to consider for potential Emergency Use Authorization.
On Thursday, Revive Therapeutics reported it had received positive comments from the FDA in regard to its request. And although the FDA has not yet granted the major endpoint change, the announcement on Thursday was enough to catch the attention of forward-thinking investors, hence pushing Revive shares higher by 21.06%.
Revive is a life sciences company that specializes in the research and development of therapeutics for infectious diseases and rare disorders. The company is prioritizing drug development efforts in order to take advantage of FDA regulatory incentives. Currently, the Company is exploring the use of Bucillamine for the potential treatment of infectious diseases, with an initial focus on severe influenza and COVID-19.