INTERNATIONAL medical cannabis platform company Akanda Corp. (“Akanda” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: AKAN) today announced it has signed a multi-year supply agreement with European medical cannabis leader Cansativa GmbH (“Cansativa Group” or “Cansativa”) to supply EU-GMP quality THC dried flower strains cultivated from its Portuguese operations at Holigen.
This new supply agreement marks one of the largest for medical cannabis to be exported from Portugal to serve the emerging European medical cannabis market.
Under the agreement terms, Akanda will supply Cansativa Group with two EU-GMP quality strains of dried THC flower for distribution and sale to all pharmacies in Germany through the Cansativa platform. The contract specifies initial deliveries of a minimum of 1,000 kilograms (approximately 2,200 pounds) over the first 12 months, with a right of first refusal (ROFR) to take on additional quantities that could result in the full capacity utilization of Holigen’s 2,000 kilograms per annum indoor production capacity. The initial shipment is anticipated to include up to 250 kilograms of each strain to be supplied no later than the fourth quarter of 2022.
“This supply agreement with Cansativa represents one of the largest supply agreements in the nascent European medical cannabis industry and is certainly Akanda’s most substantial commercial development to date,” said Tej Virk, Chief Executive Officer of Akanda.
“Our EU GMP certified grow facility in Portugal has both the quality and scalability to meet the increasing demands for medical cannabis in fast-growing markets across the EMEA region, such as Germany. Once made available, our strains will rank among the highest THC level medical cannabis products available in the EU. We’re looking forward to a long-term relationship with the Cansativa Group, a professional and collaborative partner who shares our mission to expand access to medical cannabis to improve the quality of lives. The fact that we executed this supply agreement only two months after Akanda closed the acquisition of Holigen shows tremendous partnership and hard work on both sides.”
Cansativa is the leading importer and distributor of medical cannabis in Germany, with a distribution network in the country that includes direct connections to all pharmacies, many cannabis suppliers and distributors, as well as several pharmaceutical wholesalers. Cansativa is positioned as one-stop-shop and offers the biggest multi-brand medical cannabis portfolio in the market. Over the last five years Cansativa has partnered with most leading cannabis firms and has become one of the key players in the cannabis industry in Europe. Since the award of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) in August 2020, Cansativa is the only company with approval for the distribution of medical cannabis from German cultivation.