Khiron wins first medical cannabis contract with Colombia's largest public insurance company

Khiron Life Sciences Corp. announced that Zerenia has signed a contract with insurance CAPITAL SALUD EPS to provide medical cannabis services and products to CAPITAL SALUD EPS patient population and has already begun treating the first cohort of patients. Under the contract, CAPITAL SALUD EPS patients will get access to Khiron's products and clinical services fully reimbursed by CAPITAL SALUD EPS.

In 2022, the Bogota City Council and the Bogota Mayor's office launched a first-of-its-kind initiative with the purpose of establishing the city as a research, production, and commercialization hub for medical cannabis for Colombia and Latin America. As part of this initiative, CAPITAL SALUD EPS - which is wholly owned by the City of Bogota - has signed a contract with Zerenia to provide "Integrative Health Services and Pharmacotherapeutic Treatment with Medical Cannabis" to its patient population.

City councilman Juan Baena, who spearheaded the initiative, comments: "This agreement by CAPITAL SALUD EPS seeks the materialization of Agreement 831 that we promoted at the Bogota City Council, with the objective of making Bogota the medical cannabis hub of the country."

Under the contract with CAPITAL SALUD EPS, Zerenia will provide integrative health services and medical cannabis products to patients diagnosed with chronic pain, mental health, neurological conditions, and epilepsy, amongst others. With an annual budget of more than CAD 500 million, 1.2 million insured individuals, and more than 280,000 patients diagnosed with chronic conditions, CAPITAL SALUD EPS is the largest public insurance company in Colombia.

Alvaro Torres, CEO of Khiron, comments: "The city of Bogota has embraced medical cannabis as a catalyst for social and economic growth. We are honored that Zerenia was selected by CAPITAL SALUD EPS to provide medical cannabis services and products to their patients. Over the past two years, Zerenia has invested in expanding its clinic locations across the city, generating proprietary scientific evidence on the benefits of medical cannabis, and delivering superior patient service quality to become the leader in medical cannabis in Colombia, Latin America, and Europe. We are thankful for the confidence placed by CAPITAL SALUD on Zerenia, and with an installed capacity of over 300,000 annual consultations, we are more than prepared to service their patient base. We are convinced that we have created a unique medical cannabis platform that other insurance companies in Colombia and abroad will want to offer to their patients to improve their quality of life."