Khiron Life Sciences has welcomed Spain’s recent developments regarding the regulation of medical cannabis.
The company has stated it is now looking forward to bringing its clinical expertise and evidence from Khiron-owned Zerenia™ Clinics to Spanish patients.
Spain’s Subcommittee on medicinal cannabis in the Congress of Deputies recently approved a bill aiming to regulate the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
The bill aims to give patients access to medical cannabis through hospitals and health centre pharmacies via medical specialists for conditions such as multiple sclerosis-related pain, epilepsy, and symptoms related to chemotherapy and cancer pain.
Read more: Medical cannabis bill given green light in Spain
Khiron, which offers its cannabinoid-based medicines and clinical services in Germany and the UK, has stated it is a logical step into Spain, one which the company has been preparing for years.
President of Khiron Europe, Franziska Katterbach, said: “We welcome the planned regulation for medical cannabis in Spain. For Khiron, Spain is another important European market with great potential in which we have been active since 2019 – but the opening of the market for medical cannabis in Spain is even more important for the hundreds of thousands of potential patients in Spain who do not have access to cannabinoid-based therapies.
“As a company, we look back on years of operational and physical presence in Spain, with participation in medical congresses, lectures at universities, long-standing business relationships with national partners, and cooperation with Spanish institutions.
“Khiron is well prepared for the coming developments in Spain.”
Read more: Khiron reports 65 per cent boost in revenue as it eyes up global expansion
Whilst Spain has been an important exporter of medical cannabis in Europe, the country itself has not had national medical cannabis legislation in place. With a population of more than 47 million people in Spain, experts in the medical cannabis industry in Europe estimate that the potential market size for the medical cannabis market is at least 700,000 patients or 1.5% of the country’s total population.
Khiron has been active in Spain since establishing its subsidiary Khiron Life Sciences Spain in 2019.
For the past three years, Khiron has worked to encourage this regulatory shift in Spain by promoting educational initiatives together with a network of national collaborators such as the Spanish Society for Research on Cannabinoids (SEIC), the Iberoamerican Cannabinoid Research Network (CANNALATAN), Cannabmed (ICEERS), the Cannabis Hub (Polytechnic University of Barcelona), the Sociedad Clínica de Endocannabinología (SCE) and the Technological Agroalimentary Center in Extremadura (CTAEX).
The company’s Spanish progression is further supported by the steady expansion of Khiron Europe’s medical portfolio, which will grow with the recent acquisition of an EU GMP-certified German pharmaceuticals manufacturer and wholesaler.
The acquisition will accelerate Khiron’s growth in Europe by controlling the complete value chain for its products and gaining direct access to European pharmacies.
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