UK-based medical cannabis cultivator Glass Pharms has announced the launch of a new range of own-branded ‘cannabis-based products for medicinal use’ (CBPMs).
Glass Pharms has now launched three products, which will be available in a number of UK pharmacies in the near future.
It comes just weeks after it became the first UK cultivator since medical cannabis was legalised in 2018 to deliver domestically grown product to patients.
While more own-branded products are said to be in the works, Glass Pharms assured Business of Cannabis that its focus remains on providing flower for third-party customers.
What happened?
Today, the Wiltshire-based company announced the launch of three new CBPMs to the market after working with an unnamed ‘UK pharmaceutical manufacturing partner’ to finalise the products.
These will consist of a high-CBD flower that contains less than 1% THC, and two high-THC strains at different price points.
One of the key drivers of this new venture was to enable Glass Pharms to bring new cultivars to market, especially its high-CBD offering.
According to a recent study published by the University of Colorado Boulder, its CBD-dominant ratio may be more effective in treating anxiety than higher THC strains.
Glass Pharms CEO, James Duckenfield, said: “As well as producing high-THC cannabis flower, we have a commitment to bring CBD-containing medical cannabis flower to the UK market as we believe it gives prescribers options for cannabis-naive patients that would otherwise be missing.
“Careful titration of THC content has been shown to improve the initial patient experience and led to better outcomes for new users of medical cannabis.”
Alongside this, Glass Pharms will be offering two high-THC strains. The first, described as an ‘interesting cultivar’ containing 17% THC and 2% CBG, will be at an ‘entry level’ price point.
The second will be a high-terpene, high-THC (20%) cultivar at a slightly higher price point.
While Glass Pharms did not specify where these new strains would be available to purchase, it said it was focusing on making them available in pharmacies rather than clinics.
New venture, but not new direction
The launch of its own-branded products has reportedly been in the works for some time, and comes just weeks after the company announced a significant milestone both for its own business, and for the UK medical cannabis market.
In June, Glass Pharms officially delivered its first crop to the first UK-based clinic, marking the first time that a domestically grown product has been made available to patients.
With the UK’s medical cannabis market long being hamstrung by supply issues due to its reliance on imports, the availability of ‘reliable, repeatable, standardised medicine’ grown in the UK marks a key step forward in reducing friction.
To achieve this, Glass Pharms says it has developed a ‘continuous production model’, which will harvest ‘every week of the year’, significantly shortening the supply chain and allowing the company to provide fresh flowers with ‘exacting standards’ of terpene and cannabinoid profiles.
This continuous production is not set to change following the launch of its own branded products, and supply to clinics including Releaf remains the core pillar of the business.
Glass Pharms explained to Business of Cannabis that its new offering is an ‘“and” rather than a new direction’.
“So, you’ll see more products coming out with Glass Pharms, where we’re essentially the cultivator for a range of products for specific customers. This remains core to our business model.
“This partnership under our own brand allows us to offer more unusual cultivars that we think can fulfil genuine prescribing needs to the market with our pharmaceutical manufacturing partner.”
