New Zealand cannabis pharmaceutical company Rua Bioscience has signed a five-year deal with Motagon, a European medicinal cannabis distributor, to become its preferred Australasian supplier of medicinal cannabis products.
Chief executive Rob Mitchell said the agreement would result in Rua and Motagon forming manufacturing and supply agreements for five years for each product and territory.
“This gives Rua the first opportunity to supply the European distributor with a full portfolio of medicines, including dried cannabis flower and full spectrum oils, in a range of high-value European markets,” Mitchell said in a statement.
Motagon is a subsidiary of Czech pharmaceutical company Heaton and is focused on introducing a range of cannabis-based medicines to the European Union through its 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Motagon chief executive Jaromir Fric said Heaton recognised the opportunity medicinal cannabis offered and created Motagon as a subsidiary to operate freely within the “dynamic industry”.
“One of our tenets of success is securing partnerships with companies such as Rua, who we trust to provide us with quality products consistently and for years to come,” he said.
Motagon is active in 20 countries across central and eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Malta and Croatia.
Rua’s Mitchell said the agreement with Motagon would build on Rua’s export strategy. In June, Rua received its license to distribute and market its first product for the German medicinal cannabis market.
The European medicinal cannabis market is valued at US$4.9 billion (NZ $7.8b) and is expected to reach US$13.4b by 2027.
Rua is set to launch its first product in Germany by the end of the year.
