Pharmaceuticals company Rua Bioscience has been granted a commercial licence to grow and supply cannabis-derived medicines from its new specialist growing and production facilities on the East Coast and is planning an Initial Public Offering to list the company on the NZX.
A leader in New Zealand’s sunrise medicinal cannabis industry, Rua Bioscience is one of the first to be licenced for commercial production and plans to be exporting its first product, Ruatorea grown pharmaceutical-grade dried cannabis flower, to Germany in the next 12 months.
With the green-light for its facilities to begin commercial operations and an export deal in place with leading German medicinal cannabis distributor, Nimbus Health, the company has revealed plans to raise capital and list on the NZX, with an Initial Public Offering slated for Q4 2020.
Rua Bioscience Board, Trevor Burt (Chairman), Brett Gamble, Anna Stove, Panapa Ehau (Co-founder), Martin Smith and Kaihautu & Co-founder Manu Caddie.
Rua Bioscience was founded in 2016 on the East Coast, as a subsidiary of Hikurangi Enterprises Ltd, and the company is focused on growing its reputation as a global innovator in plant science. Its team of growers, scientists and engineers have developed expertise in breeding, cultivating and processing cannabinoid-based plants to create effective medicines.
“We believe an IPO will offer New Zealanders an opportunity to invest in a highly focused leader in the medicinal cannabis sector, with a clear path to revenue," Rua Bioscience Board Chair Trevor Burt says.
“We are a company grounded in our purpose – to use the power of the plant to heal the people and the land – creating sustainable economic opportunities for our East Coast communities. This gives Rua’s success a deeper meaning for everyone involved.
“Over the last 18 months the business has worked to a clear strategy to build a resilient, sustainable, fully integrated business. We have achieved several major milestones including building a high-quality and experienced team, completing commercially licenced facilities and securing a binding sales agreement with Nimbus Health, one of Germany’s top distributors of medicinal cannabis.
“Now, with these solid foundations in place, Rua Bioscience is at an inflection point where the business needs to start scaling up and requires funding to support the company into commercialisation and further deliver on its strategy.
“New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis scheme became operational in April, and we are now licensed by the Ministry of Health to commercially cultivate and supply cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals for sale. Our co-founder, Manu Caddie was closely involved in the development of this scheme, and we understand the regulations and our obligations under them,” says Mr Burt.
“With New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis industry still in its infancy, Rua Bioscience is focused on a ‘doable’ export strategy to drive revenue over the next three years by making our first material sales through wholesale exports of dried cannabis flower to Germany.
“Germany is one of the world’s most advanced medicinal cannabis markets. Doctors there prescribe the dried cannabis flower to patients to use primarily for pain relief.
“At this stage we plan to go to IPO in the fourth quarter of this year, however this is subject to ongoing market conditions, company developments and other factors,” says Mr Burt.
Commercial licence secured, facilities operational
Rua Bioscience CEO, Rob Mitchell says, “We have invested over $6 million in two state-of-the-art facilities that are now licensed and operational. In Ruatorea, we have an 8,000 square metre cultivation centre and a purpose-built extraction and manufacturing facility in Gisborne.
“The Ruatorea facility is designed as a Cannabis Cultivation Centre of Excellence. Its versatile, modular design allows us to grow our first commercial crops, prove we can meet international medicines standards and expand rapidly by adding additional capacity as we grow.
“Initially the medicinal products to be manufactured from Gisborne will be CBD oil and dried flower for export. Like in Ruatorea, this facility is also designed to be easily extended as our production increases. Currently, our system can process 2200 kilograms per annum, but with planned expansion modules this can easily be increased.”
“Having recently secured a binding EU export sales agreement with German distributor, Nimbus Health, these facilities allow us to begin production to fulfil orders. We aim to produce a few hundred kilograms of pharmaceutical-grade dried cannabis flower in our first full year of operation,” says Mr Mitchell.
For more information:
Rua Bioscience
[email protected]
ruabio.com