A Canadian life sciences firm is targeting Portuguese medical cannabis patients as North American interest in Europe’s nascent market continues.
Portugal has some of the most liberal drugs law in Europe and legalised medical use in 2018, a move in line with two decades of liberalisation in the country.
Since then, a stream of companies from around the world have taken an interest in exporting to the country and looked to take advantage of its climate which has the right conditions for cultivation.
Among the companies with a stake in Portugal already is Tilray, the American medical cannabis giant, which received a licence allowing it to distribute its products via a facility it maintains in Cantanhede, Portugal.
Now Zyus is aiming to do the same, entering into an exclusive multi-year agreement with Aureuspharma, a Portuguese-based pharmaceutical distributor.
It’s the latest sign that North American cannabis companies are increasingly bullish about the prospects of a booming medical cannabis industry in Europe in the medium-term.
Curaleaf founder Boris Jordan, which earlier this year complete a £200m deal for Europe-based Emmac Life Sciences, said his company was getting in position ahead of a wave of reform.
He told an event: “We feel that, like the US, a lot of countries will start to liberalise and expand programmes and start to grow their markets…[the European market] is starting to reflect what the US looked like in 2015.”
Zyus is ‘currently working closely with Aureuspharma to finalise all necessary Portuguese and Canadian permitting to make its cannabinoid formulations available to Portuguese patients’.
ZYUS CEO Brent Zettl said: “Millions of patients around the world are suffering from pain and ZYUS is committed to increasing international distribution of our high-quality cannabinoid formulations to meet their needs to help improve quality of life, both physically and emotionally.
“Our new partnership with Aureuspharma will mark ZYUS’ entrance into the European market, and we intend to continue expansion across the continent through additional distribution agreements.”
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