Marijuana company Cann Group has signed a distribution deal to allow approved patients access the company’s drugs at pharmacies around Australia.
Symbion, which supplies health care products to 4,000 retail pharmacies and 1,300 hospitals around Australia, will carry Cann’s imported medical cannabis products.
The company is looking at importing formulated oils and soft gel caps with a range of cannabinoid profiles, a spokesman said.
As of October 31, the Department of Health’s Therapeutic Goods Administration had approved 20,300 applications for patients to use medical cannabis under a special program set up in 2016.
The drug has been approved to treat conditions including cancer pain, chemotherapy-induced vomiting, drug-resistant epilepsy and anorexia.
ASX-listed Althea has also been dispensing medical cannabis through Australian pharmacies while a number of other companies including THC Global are working towards that goal.
Cronos Australia, which plans to import medical cannabis grown in Canada by major shareholder Cronos Group, began trading on the ASX on Thursday following a $20 million initial offering.
Cronos shares were down 24 per cent to 38 cents at 1341 AEDT.
Cann Group said it had received its first shipment of a high THC oil formulate from its strategic partner and major shareholder, Aurora Cannabis in Canada.
Cann Group said it has completed 40 marijuana harvests and expects to launch its own locally grown products early next year in partnership with contract drugmaker IDT Australia.
Cann Group said it expects its mammoth $130 million, 34,000 square metre medical cannabis greenhouse facility in Mildura, Victoria, to be complete late next year.
That greenhouse will have the capacity to produce 70,000kg of dry flower annually, which Cann Group expects to fetch $220 million to $280 million based on current prices.
At 1253 AEDT, Cann Group shares were up 0.5 per cent to $1.015.
-AAP
