Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Rua given green light to distribute first product in NZ

Friday 17th December 2021

Rua Bioscience (NZX: RUA ), the Tairāwhiti-based medicinal cannabis company, has received verification that its first medicinal cannabis product meets the NZ Medicinal Cannabis Agency’s (Medsafe’s) quality standards, enabling the company to distribute its first medicine in New Zealand.

The approval of the product means that New Zealand patients and prescribers can include the Rua product in their treatment plan. Rua intends to distribute product by the end of Q1, early Q2 2022. It will be made available as a prescription-only medicine through GPs and specialists. Rua be will manufacturing the medicine in its purpose-built facility in Gisborne, having gained Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for the product earlier this year.

Rua Bioscience CEO, Rob Mitchell, explains the significance of this achievement, positioning the company well as it enters a new chapter of sharpened focus in bringing product to market and creating sustainable revenue.

“In the last two years, we’ve laid the foundations for commercialisation. We built cultivation and manufacturing facilities in Tairāwhiti, listed on the NZX and hired both local and international expertise to help us realise our vision of becoming an industry-leading pharmaceutical company. With this approval, we start the revenue generation phase of our company’s journey and deliver against our commercial imperatives in 2022.“

Rua Bioscience Chief Operations Officer, Paul Naske, says “Rua has hit this milestone as a result of the tenacity and hard work of our team, and we’re grateful for the careful stewardship of the Medicinal Cannabis Agency as they take the NZ industry safely into a new frontier of medicine.”

Further expanding on patient choice and accelerating market entry, Rua recently announced the proposed acquisition of Zalm Therapeutics, which shareholders will be asked to vote on in early 2022. The deal will enable Rua to supply New Zealand patients and global markets with a range of Australian-grown oil and dried flower products in the short term and product grown from unique Ruatorea-developed genetics in the longer term.

Rua Bioscience Chief Commercial Officer, Dr Andrea Grant says "our commercial strategy recognises the need to diversify revenue, accelerate market entry and expand patient choice. Whilst New Zealand may be a small market, it is growing rapidly. Patients and clinicians are relying on the local industry to provide them with brand and product choice to address their unmet health needs. This is a crucial step for Rua in meeting those needs.

“Next year will be all about going wider, faster and earlier. We are fully focused on meeting the needs of patients, our community and our investors, who have been steadfast in their support.”

Please see the link below for details

Rua Bioscience given the green light to distribute first product to New Zealand patients

Source: Rua Bioscience Limited

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