Medical cannabis insurance claims set a record in Germany
The increase in insurance claims related to the use of the therapeutic properties of hemp in Germany in the first quarter of 2020 was in line with the increase in international medical income reported by major Canadian exporters Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth and Tilray over the same period.
Insurance indemnities for the therapeutic use of hemp in Germany continue to reach new quarterly records. According to the German National Association of Compulsory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), in the first quarter of 2020, the total reimbursement for hemp-based medicines reached € 38.9 million, which is 6% higher than in the last quarter of 2019, and 58% more than in the first quarter of 2019.
German pharmacies processed 78,233 prescriptions in accordance with the official hemp-based insurance reimbursement program in the first quarter of 2020, which is 6% more than in the previous quarter and indicates that the average cost of one prescription has not changed and amounted to almost € 500. The information provided by GKV-Spitzenverband concerns both the sale of untreated cannabis leaves and inflorescences with therapeutic properties, as well as ready-made pharmaceutical preparations based on them.
The volume of hemp products insurance coverage in Germany
March 2020 was the most significant month in terms of sales since the current legal framework provided opportunities for the use of hemp leaves and inflorescences for medical purposes since 2017 and almost reached € 15 million (the maximum volume of previous refunds was noted in December 2019 and amounted to almost € 13 million). Sales in January and February 2020 amounted to about € 12 million per month. A possible explanation for the surge in sales in March 2020 is the desire of patients to accumulate therapeutic raw materials and hemp-based medicines for fear of interruptions in their supply to pharmacy chains in connection with the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
Market growth
All refund data is based on information obtained from retail prices in pharmacies, which are the only authorized points of sale for patients in Germany. For goods not included in the “finished pharmaceutical products” category, pharmacies used to raise prices to 100% of their value. Compensation data do not include private sales of prescriptions that are paid by patients from their own pockets (in connection with the foregoing, the total amount covered by insurance companies should not be considered as an indicator of the total market size).
Information previously prepared by analysts of the global cannabis medical market suggests that sales of therapeutic raw materials and cannabis-based medicines in 2019 amounted to at least € 170 million. This figure includes € 123 million, which were covered under the established procedures by insurance companies and about € 50 million of estimated sales paid by patients “out of pocket”.
Product range
Hemp flowers - which include the categories “unprocessed flowers” and “flowers used in preparations”, usually sold as ground raw materials, account for slightly more than half of the total therapeutic hemp market covered by insurance. The sales volume of this category of commercial products amounted to 51% of the total volume of indemnifications in the first quarter of 2020, unchanged compared to the previous quarter of 2019.
The percentage of sold extracts as main drugs did not change, which amounted to 34% of the total volume of refunds. In the extracts category, the majority of sales are represented by pure tetrahydrocannabinol preparations, which are sold in pharmacies in the form of dronabinol, as well as cannabidiol and full spectrum extracts.
Finished pharmaceutical products (represented mainly by the Sativex trademark) accounted for about 15% of the reimbursed insurance market in the first quarter of 2020, the same as in the previous quarter of 2019.
Exporters
Germany is still one of the largest importers of medical hemp in the world, and its own flower production is not expected on the shelves of German stores until the last quarter of this year. In particular, in 2019, all insurance claims for flowers, extracts of specifically taken cannabinoids, or full spectrum extracts were imported from Canada, the Netherlands, or Portugal.
The volume of German imports of hemp flowers with significant therapeutic properties
Commentary by the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association
Despite the fact that Canada exports hemp raw materials with significant therapeutic properties to 17 countries, almost the entire volume of hemp flowers is supplied to Germany, and the vast majority of cannabinoid oils to Australia. The increase in insurance claims related to the use of the therapeutic properties of hemp in Germany in the first quarter of 2020 was in line with the increase in international medical income reported by the main Canadian exporters Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth and Tilray for the same period.