Aurora Cannabis Inc (NYSE: ACB)(TSX: ACB) announced today that the Polish Ministry of Health gave the company approval to begin exporting medical cannabis to Poland. The first shipment will be shipped to a pain treatment center and hospital in Warsaw for patient use and marks a significant milestone for medical marijuana usage in Poland.
Under Polish medical laws, physicians are permitted to prescribe medical cannabis products to patients who can acquire them from specific pharmacies. Treatable conditions include multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, as well as chronic pain and epilepsy.
These products are covered under the nations health insurance policy, but despite legalizing medical cannabis in 2017, the Polish markets have suffered from a chronic lack of supply. Besides opening up a potentially massive European market for Aurora Cannabis in the future, it’s believed that this is the first case of a non-government run business acquiring approval for medical cannabis in the country.
“Becoming the first company to supply cannabis to Poland is validation of Aurora’s ability to do business in international markets with high barriers of entry,” said Chief Global Business Development Officer Neil Belot. “This is an important milestone for patient access in Poland, which will provide options for people seeking alternative medications to help manage symptoms of a wide range of medical conditions. Aurora continues to grow its international footprint, which now spans 19 countries on five continents, and puts us in an enviable position to capitalize on our early mover advantage.”
According to a regulatory filing released in September, Aurora confirmed that the company is the European Union’s largest distributor of medical cannabis. Employing over 70 people in Europe at the moment, the firm ended up opening a pan-European company division, Aurora Europe GmbH, which currently is headquartered in Berlin. Other subsidies across the continent include Aurora Malta, Aurora Italia, and Aurora Nordic (Denmark).
Head of Business Development for Aurora Europe Maximilian Weinberg added that the company is was thrilled to have worked through the complex Polish regulations surrounding medical cannabis, as well as proud of being the first firm to supply a major Polish hospital. “Throughout this process we’ve established strong relationships with medical professionals, state-owned wholesalers, and local foundations who have played an integral role in achieving this milestone.”
Partially in reaction to news developments, Aurora cannabis stocks surged by 4.3 percent in premarket trading before stabilizing with a 1 percent increase on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This marks the first time since legalization that the stocks price has moved upwards, as the cannabis market on a whole has been on a steady decline.
Aurora Cannabis Company Profile
Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with funded capacity in excess of 500,000 kg per annum and sales and operations in 19 countries across five continents, Aurora is one of the world’s largest and leading cannabis companies.
Aurora is vertically integrated and horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives, high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale and retail distribution. – Aurora
