January 24, 2022
Stable growth from Trans-Tasman cannabis hook up
A Tairāwhiti-based medical cannabis company Rua Bioscience says linking with a major Australian player in the fledgling industry will be good for its Māori growers.
In a scrip-based deal valued at about $10 million, Rua Bioscience is buying fellow New Zealand company Zalm Therapeutics, which is part-owned by Victoria-based Cann Group.
Chief Executive Rob Mitchell says Rua’s world-class team on the East Coast will learn a lot from the Aussies, and the company will be able to get product grown and processed at Cann’s new state of the art facility in Mildura onto the New Zealand market early, accelerating revenue growth.
“That will help us stabilise local operations. It will allow us to expand our local grower programme and ultimately foster long term commitment to local job creation,” he says.
Mr Mitchell says the Cann-connection should allow Rua’s unique cannabis cultivars to be grown in Australia cost-effectively.