Tagged with Cannabis,

Portugal A doyen of Portuguese pharma, Pedro Ferraz da Costa is the long-serving president of the company started by his parents, Iberfar. In conversation with PharmaBoardroom, he discusses how Iberfar’s business has evolved in recent years, the direction of travel his country should take to safeguard its homegrown industry and the…

Asia-Pacific The latest from the pharma industry in Southeast Asia, including underwhelming results from Kalbe Pharma, Indonesia’s largest pharma company; Novavax’s vaccine manufacturing plans in the Philippines; the promising future of cannabis in Thailand; and the first Vietnamese coronavirus vaccine candidate’s Phase III trials.   Indonesia’s Kalbe Farma sales underwhelm investors…

Switzerland Susanne Caspar, CEO at Swiss natural API producer Linnea, talks about her first few months in the company, the pharmaceutical industry’s growing embrace of natural ingredients, and why Linnea has made the move into cannabis API production.   2020 was defined by an increase in demand for dietary supplements because…

Switzerland Nerum Pharmaceuticals, a Switzerland-based start-up, is supplying high-grade cannabis products to nine countries around the world. CEO and Co-Founder Alex Pombo highlights how the company leverages their unique Swiss-Colombia connection, the dynamics shaping the cannabis product industry, and Nerum’s role supplying ingredients to businesses in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food…

UK The first day of March 2013 also marked a first for GW Pharmaceuticals. On that day, the British biopharmaceutical company successfully listed on NASDAQ, raising over USD 30 million. Founded in 1998, UK headquartered GW Pharma is a true pioneer as the company behind Epidiolex, the world’s first prescription medicine…

Mexico Last Wednesday, the lower chamber of the Mexican Congress approved a bill that would legalise recreational marijuana. With a population of nearly 130 million people, Mexico would join Canada and Uruguay as the only countries to legalise marijuana at the national level in the continent and it would become the…

Canada Clint Sharples, CEO of Heritage Cannabis, gives a potted history of the medical cannabis industry in Canada, its current legal status, provincial variations in patient registrations, financial performance, the impact of COVID-19, and where the field is headed for the future.   The cannabis plant has been used as a…

Roundup The latest from healthcare and the life sciences in Latin America, including the most recent wave of Indian pharma investment; Argentina’s ongoing struggle with COVID-19; issues around unchecked use of an anti-parasite drug; and the seismic economic and social impact of upcoming cannabis legalisation in Mexico.   Six Indian drug…

Thailand On February 19, 2019, by amending the Narcotics Act B.E. 2522, Thailand caught the cannabis industry by surprise and became the first Asia-Pacific country to legalize medicinal cannabis. While hemp had been approved for use in industry since 2018 (see here), the amendment of the Narcotics Act B.E. 2522, providing for…

Algeria The ongoing reform of pharmaceutical regulations in Algeria has been marked on January 2020 by publication in the Official Gazette of the long-awaited Decree No 19-379 dated of 31st December 2019. This Decree has laid down procedures for specific administrative, technical and safety control of substances and drugs with psychotropic…

Mexico Francisco Kuri Breña, director of new developments at local Mexican player Landsteiner, shares the company’s existing positioning as one of the top 10 suppliers of generic medicines to the Mexican government, their exciting pipeline of new projects including in genomic medicine and upcoming plans to invest in medical marijuana once…

Ecuador In the 1st Supplement of the Official Gazette No. 107 of December 24, 2019, the Reform of the Criminal Law was published, which will enter into force in June 21, 2020.   Included among the reforms, is the decriminalization of possession of drugs that contain cannabis or derivatives as their active…