Rua Bioscience signs deal with European distributor

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Tairāwhiti-based medicinal cannabis company Rua Bioscience has signed an agreement with European distributor Motagon to become its preferred Australia/New Zealand supplier of medicinal cannabis products.

Rua Bioscience chief executive Rob Mitchell says the agreement will see Rua and Motagon form a manufacturing and supply agreement with a five-year term.

“This gives Rua the first opportunity to supply the European distributor with a full portfolio of medicines, including dried cannabis flower and full spectrum oils, in a range of high value European markets.”

Under the deal, the companies reach supply agreements for each product and territory.

From there, the necessary regulations will be worked through to launch Rua and Motagon medicines in those territories.

Rua chief commercial officer Dr Andi Grant says the agreement with Motagon “gives Rua access to high value European markets backed by a leading distributor of cannabis-based medicines in the European Union”.

Motagon is a subsidiary of Heaton — a Czech pharmaceutical company with 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Motagon is focused on introducing a broad range of cannabis-based medicines to the European Union.

The company is active in 20 countries across Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Malta and Croatia.

The European medicinal cannabis market is valued at US$4.96 billion and is expected to rise to US$13.37bn by 2027.

Heaton chief executive and Motagon chairman Jaromir Fric said they “recognised the cannabis opportunity early on and established Motagon as a separate subsidiary to give it the freedom to operate in this dynamic industry”.

“One of our tenets of success is securing partnerships with companies such as Rua, who we trust to provide us with quality products consistently and for years to come.”

The agreement with Motagon builds on Rua's export strategy.

Last month, Rua received its narcotic licence through Nimbus Health GmbH for distribution and marketing of its first product for the German medicinal cannabis market — a move understood to have made Rua the first medicinal cannabis company from New Zealand to take such a step.

Rua is set to launch its first product in Germany by year's end.

“This agreement positions Rua as a substantive Australasian supplier of cannabis-based medicines across Europe,” Dr Grant said.