With New Zealand in the red level of the Covid Protection Framework, the country's largest medicinal cannabis summit will now be run virtually on February 10 and 11.

'We are absolutely committed to this exciting sector and hosting a highly interactive virtual event. So many people have been looking forward to MedCan 2022, especially after the event was delayed from October 2021,” says Dr Zahra Champion, Executive Director of BioTechNZ and MedCan Summit 2022 organiser.

Dr Champion says with the safety of MedCan attendees, speakers, sponsors and staff the organisers' top priority, the decision for MedCan to be held virtually is the right one.

Prior to the Government's red level announcement, the summit was to be held at Auckland's Cordis hotel.

'Our Virtual Event Platform is highly interactive and enables attendees to watch the live sessions and access on-demand content. Attendees can engage with the summit speakers through questions and polls, join the roundtables, view the exhibition virtually and book one-on-one meetings with other attendees and sponsors,” she says.

The more than 30 international and local speakers presenting at the online summit include scientists, medical experts, clinicians, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers.

It will also feature a dedicated one-day Healthcare Professionals Forum which has endorsement from The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and The Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand.

The event's Foundation sponsor, Helius Therapeutics, is delighted MedCan 2022 will continue as a virtual event, saying it comes at a very important time for the sector.

'New Zealand's medicinal cannabis sector is now delivering for Kiwi patients as well as eyeing up international markets. GMP licences have been issued, supply agreements have been signed, manufacturing is underway, and doctors are coming on board. February's summit is critical for our country's newest sector,” says Carmen Doran, Chief Executive of Helius Therapeutics.

MedCan Summit 2021 is organised by NZTech and BioTechNZ - a not for profit, membership-funded organisation with the goal of maximising New Zealand's bioscience and technology capability to create a strong New Zealand bioeconomy.

BioTechNZ is part of the New Zealand Tech Alliance. Foundation sponsor is Helius Therapeutics. Gold sponsor is Eqalis, with Silver sponsors Elysian and CannaPlus+. Puro, Callaghan Innovation and Shimadzu are Bronze sponsors.

MedCan's full two-day programme, including who's presenting, is available on MedCan's website: www.medcansummit.co.nz.