AgraFlora Organics International has closed its acquisition of 100 per-cent of the issued and outstanding shares of The Good Company GmbH. The Good Company is the parent company of German European Union good distribution practice medical cannabis distributor Farmako GmbH.
Brandon Boddy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AgraFlora stated: “The combined AgraFlora-Farmako entity will be equipped with world-class upstream cultivation assets as well as highly efficient European downstream capabilities that will act as a beachhead into the 700-million-person European marketplace as well as crystallize a defendable advantage within the edibles cannabinoid-infused beverage and product formulation market verticals.
Farmako’s good distribution practice certification marks the highest standards of medical cannabis distribution in the world permitting the bulk warehousing of medical cannabis on German soil allowing for direct sales.”
Germany
"Equipped with the following German and European industry certifications and distribution licences Farmako boasts unparalleled access to Germany’s geometrical growing medical cannabis marketplace," the team with the company explains.
- Medical wholesale distribution licence under German Medicines Act (“AMG”);
- Permit for narcotic drug handling as per German Betaubungsmittelgesetz (“BtMG”); and
- Certificate of EU-GDP.
Germany Europe’s largest economy and the most populous European Union member state introduced revised medical cannabis legislation in March 2017 affording the country’s geometrically growing patient population access to an alternative form of therapy. The German patient population for medical cannabis is experiencing exponential growth with over 100,000 patients now active an increase from approximately 800 in 2017. Prohibition Partners has forecasted that Germany will eclipse one million eligible medical cannabis patients by 2024.
According to market data from Insight Health each eligible German patient is prescribed on average approximately 30 grams of medical cannabis per month. When extrapolated this equates to annualized cannabis demand of 36 tons.
Germany represents one of the ultimate global potentials for medical cannabis due to:
- Estimated 420 billion euros in annual health care expenditures;
8.8 million grams of total medicinal cannabis allowance in 2019; - Median retail prices of between 20 euros and 25 euros per gram of medical cannabis flower;
- Largest consumer base for cannabis among all EU nations;
Forecasted cannabis market size of 7.7 billion euros by 2028; and - Full reimbursement of 60 per cent of all medical/pharmaceutical cannabis prescriptions.
Germany is presently the largest medicinal cannabis market in Europe and can be divided into two principal submarkets:
- Pharmaceutical cannabis market: representing cannabis-based pharmaceutical drugs including Sativex Dronabinol and Nabilone;
- Medical cannabis market: representing plant-based and plant-derived cannabis products (though Germany’s cannabis programs are still being developed they are projected to be among the most robust in Europe).
Under current medical cannabis legislation German public health insurers which cover 90 per cent of the population are mandated to provide coverage for up to 140 grams of eligible cannabis medications per month; making Germany one of the most potentially valuable markets in Europe. Medical cannabis can be sold only through registered pharmacies of which there are about 20000 in Germany.
United Kingdom
"AgraFlora’s United Kingdom subsidiary Farmako Ltd. has completed its UK Home Office inspection for the purpose of obtaining a controlled drug licence," they further explain.
"Farmako Ltd. has already been granted certification for its compliance with good distribution practice (“GDP”) and received an authorization for the wholesale distribution of medicinal products including medical cannabis in summer 2019 after completing a successful inspection by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (“MRHA”) earlier this year."
The UK medicinal cannabis market value is forecast to reach almost US$1.3-billion by 2024. Prohibition Partners has also estimated that up to 1 per-cent of the UK population could qualify as medical cannabis patients by 2028.
"Upon receipt of a controlled drug licence from the U.K. Home Office after the recent inspection Farmako Ltd. will be fully licensed to pursue pharmaceutical/medical cannabis trading within the U.K. operating theatre. Initially Farmako Ltd. will pursue the import of Bedrocan products from the Netherlands to the U.K. for end-patient distribution."
"Additionally Farmako Ltd. reports it is in advanced contract discussions with an external U.K.-domiciled pharmaceutical logistics firm which will function as the company’s secured U.K. warehousing and shipping hub. Recent UK legislation allows for the prescription of cannabis from medical specialists through a regular pharmacy model. Access to this high-profile market when coupled with broad National Health Service (“NHS”) insurance coverage for medical cannabis to ensure better patient outcomes is a key strategic element of AgraFlora’s global platform."
For more information:
AgraFlora Organics
agraflora.com