Welcome to Medicure's Q2 financial statement earnings conference call for the quarter ending June 30, 2022. My name is Deborah, and I'll be your operator for today's call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Before we proceed, I would like to remind everyone that this presentation contains forward-looking statements relating to future results, events and expectations, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those described in the company's most recent annual information form and Form 20-F. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Please note that this conference call is being recorded, and today's date is August 25, 2022.
I would now like to turn the conference call over to Dr. Albert Friesen, Chief Executive Officer of Medicure Inc. Please go ahead, Dr. Friesen.
Thank you, Deborah, and good morning to all on the call. We appreciate your interest and participation in today's call. Joining me today on this Q2 financial statements call is Dr. Neil Owens, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Haaris Uddin, Medicure's Chief Financial Officer. We're pleased to share that the net revenue for the quarter was about the same as the previous quarter, with continued increase in ZYPITAMAG sales. AGGRASTAT sales remained steady with a small decline in Marley Drug sales other than the ZYPITAMAG. Earnings dipped from the previous quarter, mainly due to a substantial increase in research and development spending, which totaled over CAD 1 million, which was much more than the previous quarter and anticipated in the next quarter. Absent the unusual high R&D spend, we would've seen a further increase in earnings this quarter.
The acquisition of Marley Drug, Inc., an innovative online pharmacy channel, helped drive the sales of ZYPITAMAG, as did the general sales and marketing efforts on the Medicure team. With the acquisition of Marley, we now have four main focuses. Continued sales and profits of AGGRASTAT. Number two, ZYPITAMAG revenue and profit. Developing Marley Drug online presence. The fourth is MC-1 development of PNPO deficiency. One of the reasons we acquired Marley, a pharmacy uniquely positioned to dispense medications to Americans in all fifty states and other territories through mail, was to expand our sales reach of ZYPITAMAG. This acquisition also gives us the opportunity to provide all FDA-approved medications at affordable prices. We believe the best way to do this is through a direct-to-consumer approach via our e-commerce platform, coupled with our existing sales and marketing infrastructure.
A goal of the platform is to bypass the traditional framework run by health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, PBMs, that has made access to affordable medication too expensive for many Americans, including generic and branded products such as ZYPITAMAG. The platform will focus on ease of use and customer service and is differentiated by being able to ship medications to every state in the U.S. We believe the investments in the past several quarters in our programs on onboarding of new products has and will continue to provide growth in revenue, profits for the coming quarters and years. It takes time and persistence. Medicure has a good cardiovascular product portfolio, a track record of growing sales, and a great team with energy, talent and experience to build a strong, growing company.
I'd now like to turn over to our CFO, Haaris Uddin, to review and provide some of the color on the financial results of Q2, 2022. Haaris.
Thank you, Dr. Friesen. A couple of quick items to note before I start. All dollar figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted by each presenter. As a reminder, you will be able to obtain a complete copy of our financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, by the end of day today, along with the previous financial statements on the investor page of our website. Alternatively, a copy of all financial statements and management's discussion analysis can be obtained immediately from SEDAR.com. I will now provide some key highlights of our financial performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. Total revenues for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022, were CAD 5.8 million, compared to CAD 5.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.
Net revenues from AGGRASTAT for the period ended June 30, 2022, totaled $2.9 million, a slight increase from the prior year, where net revenue from AGGRASTAT was $2.8 million during the same period. The increase in AGGRASTAT revenue during the current year is a result of a higher volume of units sold. The company earned net revenues from ZYPITAMAG in Q2 of 2022 of $1.1 million, which is a significant increase from the net revenues earned during the same period in the prior year of $403,000.
The company continues to focus on ZYPITAMAG and expects revenues to continue to grow through the remainder of 2022 and beyond. The company earned net revenues from Marley Drug in Q2 of 2022 of CAD 1.8 million, which is a slight decrease from the net revenues earned from Marley Drug during Q2 2021 of CAD 1.9 million. The decrease in net revenue earned through Marley Drug is a result of increased competition for filling generic medications. Turning to cost of goods sold. AGGRASTAT cost of goods sold for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 totaled CAD 1.2 million. Cost of goods sold for AGGRASTAT consisted of finished products sold and that was delivered to customers.
ZYPITAMAG cost of goods sold for the three-month period ended June 30th, 2022 totaled $325,000 and includes $181,000 relating to products sold to customers, $143,000 from amortization of the ZYPITAMAG intangible asset, and $43,000 relating to royalties on the sale of ZYPITAMAG, resulting from the acquisition of the product in September of 2019. Marley Drug cost of goods sold was $456,000 during the three-month period ended June 30th, 2022 and pertained to the cost of products sold by Marley Drug in store and mail order pharmaceutical business. Selling expenses totaled $1.7 million for the three-month period ended June 30th, 2022 in comparison to $2.5 million for the three-month period ended June 30th, 2021.
Selling expenses decreased in the current period as a result of the company implementing cost saving measures at Marley Drug, in addition to the company reclassifying certain expenses as general and administrative expenses based on their nature. General and administrative expenses totaled CAD 1.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 in comparison to CAD 571,000 during the period ended June 30, 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses is primarily related to professional fees incurred during the current period as the company continues to improve its e-commerce platform which was launched during the current year. This is partially offset by lower legal costs and a reclassification of certain expenses from selling to general and administrative expenses based on a review of their nature.
Research and development expenses for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 totaled CAD 1.3 million, compared to CAD 705,000 during the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. The increase during the current period is primarily due to the timing of research and development expenditures relating to each development project. The company recorded finance expense of CAD 38,000 during the three-month period ended June 30, 2022. The finance expense recorded during the current period consisted primarily of accretion on the ZYPITAMAG acquisition liability, bank charges incurred, and finance expense on the company's lease obligation, partially offset by interest income earned during the current period.
The company recorded a foreign exchange gain during the three months ended June 30, 2022 of CAD 98,000 compared to a foreign exchange loss of CAD 172,000 during the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. The change relates to changes in the US dollar exchange rate during the respective periods, which led to a favorable foreign exchange gain during the current period. Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ended June 30, 2022 was CAD -210,000 compared to adjusted EBITDA of CAD 158,000 during the three-month period ended June 30, 2021.
The decrease in adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended June 30, 2022 is the result of higher research and development costs and general administrative costs related to the improvements in the Marley Drug e-commerce platform, partially offset by decreased selling expenses and higher revenues when compared to the same period in 2021. As of June 30, 2022, the company had cash totaling CAD 4.8 million, an increase from the CAD 3.7 million of cash held as of December 31, 2021. The company does not have any debt on its books. I want to remind you that there will be an opportunity at the end of today's call for you to ask questions regarding the financial results of the company as a whole. With that, I would like to turn the call over to our President and Chief Operating Officer, Dr.
Neil Owens, for some additional commentary regarding our operations.
Thank you, Haaris, and good morning, everyone. A few updates I can provide. First, we are pleased to report that AGGRASTAT continues to see consistent demand with a 1% increase in units sold in Q2 compared to Q1. Of note is that we've seen a slight shift in demand towards a more profitable product format, which is one of the reasons why net revenue grew by 3% in the quarter. Knowing that we will have the first licensed generic of AGGRASTAT in November for one format, we continue to take strategic steps to protect our market share through contracting and by strengthening our brand. Regarding ZYPITAMAG, we continue to see consistent growth in prescriptions filled through Marley Drug, including a 25% increase in units dispensed in Q2 compared to Q1. The reaction from customers and prescribers continues to be very positive.
It should be noted that we see new prescribers added through efforts of both our sales team and our marketing campaigns. Net revenue was impacted to some extent from product returns. However, net revenue grew in Q2, and sales through Marley Drug continues to demonstrate lower returns and fees to wholesalers and reduced fees to pharmacy benefit managers. The Marley Drug pharmacy business generated sales of CAD 1.8 million in Q2, which is a decrease from Q1 of CAD 1.9 million. This is primarily due to increased competition in the generic market. Earlier this year, we announced the launch of an e-commerce platform to fill generic and branded medications in all 50 states and a partnership as an exclusive mail order fulfillment pharmacy. Our goal is to provide best-in-class exprience for customers and meet the demand for home delivery of medications.
We continue to invest in marketing and brand awareness and are expecting slow and steady growth. We continue to evaluate branded products and products with high market share potential to add to Medicure's portfolio and those that would align well with our focus and contacts in the U.S. market, especially those that can be sold through Marley Drug. Our Phase III study to find the first FDA-approved therapy for patients with PNPO deficiency, which is a rare pediatric disease leading to seizures and is ultimately fatal if untreated, is planned to begin in Q4 of this year. This is an exciting moment for Medicure as well as the clinicians and families waiting to see the study begin. If successful, use of Medicure's legacy product, MC-1, could lead to a priority review voucher, which can be redeemed or sold and provides significant value.
Due to investments in our phase III clinical study and improvements in the e-commerce platform, we are reporting a negative EBITDA in Q2 of CAD 210,000 . However, we are pleased to report an overall growth in revenue and increase in unrestricted cash. Our team wants our investors to know that we are driven and dedicated to growing revenue, controlling our costs, and making Medicure a long-term success. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Dr. Friesen for final comments.
Thank you, Dr. Owens. We're thankful for the continued strength in AGGRASTAT market share and a strong balance sheet, the growth of ZYPITAMAG, and our investment in Marley Drug. We're still focused on growing the business with a pipeline of cardiovascular products that will further diversify our revenue and asset base carefully, investing to grow our future profitability. My goal, and that of our board, management, and staff, is to continue to build this business with a stable long-term outlook to generate value for our shareholders. As always, I want to express my appreciation to the outstanding team of employees we've been blessed with. Thank you to our shareholders for their continuous support and interest. Now I'll turn it back to the moderator for our Q&A. Welcome your questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. Should you have a question, please press the star followed by the one on your touch tone phone. You'll hear a three-tone prompt acknowleding your request, and your questions will be pulled in the order they're received. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press the star followed by the two. One moment for your first question, please. Your first question comes from Kurt Caramanis from Carl M. Hennig. Please go ahead.
Morning, guys. Thanks for taking the call. Trying to understand how do you view the rest of the year as far as R&D spend and your cash balance? I was wondering how your cash went up with your R&D spend in the prior quarter?
Thanks, Kurt. Good to have you on the call. We expect continued growth. The cash is growing because the statements also include a fairly significant amortization, including the R&D spend. The R&D spend was a little, as we mentioned, unusual in this quarter because of the expenses just came in terms of timing. It should be flat for the year. It was around CAD 700,000 the previous or CAD 700,000 or CAD 800,000 previous quarter and anticipated similar for the next quarter. It is a significant R&D investment by Medicure, but the opportunity with the voucher is very significant. Once the trial is completed, it's 10 patients, relatively small trial.
It's been a challenge to get it going, but we're close to getting it going now, and the return for the shareholders would be quite significant.
Great. Yes, I'm aware. That sounds good. You think the cash will grow. We're trading, I think, at about 2x cash or so. What are you looking at, other possible acquisitions or where you wanna guard that cash? What are you kind of thinking in terms of, you know, what to do with that?
I think we expect the cash to continue to grow in the coming quarters. Although it's great to have a good, strong balance sheet, we are thinking to conserve the cash for the short term, looking at real opportunities. As you know, in the past, we've been able to make some acquisitions with little or no cash, and that's sort of our continue to be our approach for the present until we see a significant growth in the cash.
Okay. Would buying stock be premature at this point when it's valued so low, or have you thought about that, even if it was at a modest level?
Well, we continue to look at that pretty much at every board meeting. Although it's tempting from time to time, we're still a little bit hesitant to get back into buying back. I'm not saying we won't, but I'm just sort of giving you an impression that we're cautiously looking at it. With the price right now and also a book value is extremely attractive. Then the cash. When we had a large amount of cash, we traded below cash. There are companies right now trading at or below cash. We wanna conserve cash and use it opportunistically in the future for acquisitions. Right now, try to add product with little or no cash.
Great. Maybe a time for insiders to be buying some stock. Appreciate your work, and we look forward to the future. Thanks a lot.
Thanks, Kurt.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, should you have a question, please press the star followed by the one. At this time, we have no further questions. You may proceed with your closing remarks.
Thank you for all that are on the call. Appreciate your interest and we very much value the shareholders and look forward to reporting in the next quarter. Thank you again. Have a great day.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a great day.