CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. Announces Strategic International Cannabis Distribution Agreement with Fagron NV
- Fagron to utilize its existing international distribution network to market and distribute CanniMed medicinal cannabis products to 17 specified countries with aggregate population of over 760 million
- Primary initial focus on Germany
- Germany fully legalized medicinal cannabis in March 2017
- Germany’s ~22,000 pharmacies serve a population of over 82 million
- Demand for medicinal cannabis in Germany outstrips supply
January 10, 2018
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — (Business Wire) — CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: CMED) (“CanniMed” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a global marketing and distribution agreement (the “Agreement”) with the leading global pharmaceutical compounding company Fagron NV of Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Euronext Brussels: FAGR and Euronext Amsterdam: FAGR). Under the Agreement, Fagron and CanniMed will work closely together in utilizing Fagron’s extensive infrastructure to supply CanniMed’s medicinal cannabis products in Germany and other specified countries. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, CanniMed is working to supplement its Canadian GMP compliant status with GMP certification in Europe for its cannabis products, which it anticipates will be achieved in Q2 2018. Fagron and CanniMed anticipate first product sales into Germany will commence in Q3 2018, subject to obtaining required export permits.
Pursuant to the Agreement, CanniMed is Fagron’s supplier of cannabis products in the specified countries and the two companies will commit resources to develop and execute a combined marketing and distribution strategy to establish CanniMed as a strong brand in these countries.
Fagron is perfectly positioned in the highly attractive German market as well as several other countries to drive the penetration of our pharmaceutical grade cannabis products. Our first primary target market, Germany, is particularly exciting as it has legalized medicinal cannabis for distribution through pharmacies and with a population of over 82 million which is more than double that of Canada.
Brent Zettl, President and CEO, CanniMed
“Fagron brings the connections, experience and market credibility to be a highly impactful partner for us internationally. We anticipate that the majority of medicinal cannabis products demanded in these countries will be oils and oil derivate products such as capsules, sublingual wafers and topical creams. The first 12 million 60 ml bottles phase of our 50 million bottles per year oils plant will be coming onstream in late 2018 and will be the foundation for meeting escalating international and domestic medicinal oils demand.”
Rafael Padilla, CEO of Fagron stated “We are very pleased to be working with an industry-leading company such as CanniMed and we believe the German market is a prime target for CanniMed’s highly respected cannabis products, driven by widespread acceptance in Germany of the many medicinal benefits of cannabis. We believe CanniMed has the opportunity to become a long-term major medicinal brand in Germany, where demand for medicinal cannabis products exceeds supply. We are confident that our depth of cannabis and pharmaceutical experience together with our established marketing infrastructure and connections in Germany and other countries combined with CanniMed’s leading expertise and products will be very effective in achieving international market penetration of CanniMed’s products.”
About CanniMed Therapeutics Inc.
CanniMed is a Canadian-based, international plant biopharmaceutical company and a leader in the Canadian medical cannabis industry, with 17 years of pharmaceutical cannabis cultivation experience, state-of-the-art, GMP-compliant production process and world class research and development platforms with a wide range of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products. In addition, the Company has an active plant biotechnology research and product development program focused on the production of plant-based materials for pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental applications.
CanniMed, through its subsidiaries, was the first producer to be licensed under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, the predecessor to the current Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. It was the sole supplier to Health Canada under the former medical cannabis system for 13 years, and has been producing safe and consistent medical cannabis for thousands of Canadian patients, with no incident of product diversion or recalls.
For more information, please visit our websites: www.cannimed.ca (patients) and www.cannimedtherapeutics.com (investors).
About Fagron NV
Fagron NV, located in Waregem, Belgium and with operational head office in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is publicly listed (FAGR) on Euronext in Brussels, Belgium and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fagron has over 2,000 employees and is active in 34 countries around the world, with a focus on the core regions Europe, South America and the United States. Fagron is a leading global pharmaceutical compounding company, bringing personalized pharmaceutical care to hospitals, pharmacies, clinics and patients.
In Germany, Fagron’s extensive infrastructure is connected into the country’s approximately 22,000 pharmacies, where it is active in distributing a wide range of pharmaceutical products.
For the year ended December 31, 2016 Fagron reported global revenue of €422 million ($CAN633 million) and EBITDA of €87 million ($CAN130 million).
