Another pharma giant makes a leap into the global medical marijuana business
Big Pharma just struck its second distribution deal with the growing global medical marijuana business.
Nine months after Novartis’ Sandoz group allied itself with Tilray, the medical cannabis grower Canndoc says it will use Teva’s SLE group to distribute its medical cannabis products in Israel, and then spearhead the global distribution of its products to markets around the world where medical cannabis is legal.
“Through its SLE partnership, Canndoc has aligned itself with one of the most prominent pharmaceutical companies in the world, for the distribution of cannabis-based medical treatments to countries that recognize the value of these medicines for people in need,” noted company chairman Ehud Barak in a statement.
Barak is the former prime minister of Israel, underscoring just how deeply entrenched the company is with the country’s business establishment. Back in April, Haaretz reported that Canndoc was doing a roadshow for an IPO on Nasdaq and talking up its shot at a unicorn valuation of around $5 billion.
But the bloom has come off the market rose, with share prices at the top players like Tilray wilting as the overnight market bubble that grew up around marijuana quickly deflated. Share prices may be down, but Teva and Novartis clearly see some longterm potential in medical marijuana. And more of their colleagues in the business may well follow.
Canndoc is a subsidiary of InterCure and has cultivation sites in Israel as well as JVs underway for cultivation and distribution in the EU and Canada. InterCure also has minority stakes in 2 biotech companies, Regenera and Novellus.
