New Zealand’s Puro has inked a deal it claims is the largest organic medical cannabis export agreement ever struck.
Signed at the New Zealand High Commission in London, the £7 million deal is with UK-based IPS Pharma, an arrangement made possible by 2024 reforms to New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis regulations.
“Not only is this deal the world’s largest organic cannabis order, but it will provide many UK and European patients with their first experience of live dried cannabis,” said Puro CEO Sank Macfarlane. “Our seven stage live drying process keeps cannabis as fresh and potent as the day it’s harvested, locking in the maximum therapeutic value that can be lost overtime with traditional drying.”
Puro’s process involves gently removing moisture to preserve the full profile of cannabinoids, terpenes and other components.
Commenting on the deal, IPS Pharma Director Strategic Partnerships Ian McFarlane said:
“We know that UK and European patients will benefit from Puro’s unique, organically grown cannabis varieties. Their exceptional terpene profiles and complex aromatic compounds make Puro products some of the best in the world.”
Surrey-based IPS Pharma operates in three main areas: Unlicensed medicines (Unlicensed Imports and Specials), Clinical Trials and Special Obtains. The firm was founded in 2001.
Puro has an organic cannabis farm and manufacturing facility at Kekerengu on New Zealand’s south island. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and protected by mountainous terrain, Puro says the site offers a ‘perfect’ microclimate for cannabis cultivation. Also at the site is New Zealand’s largest drying, processing and packaging facility.
At Waihopai, the firm has an indoor research, breeding and cultivar validation facility opened in 2020 that Puro says is also the largest of its kind in New Zealand.
Founded in 2018, Puro has received significant NZ government support, including a $13 million grant from the Ministry of Primary Industries to fast-track the country’s organic medicinal cannabis industry. The company completed its first large-scale commercial harvest in 2021. In July 2022, Puro completed New Zealand’s first cannabis flower export.
In other recent cannabis news out of New Zealand, last month it was announced three of New Zealand’s major medical cannabis firms — Helius Therapeutics, Green Leaf Group and Elysian Group — intend to merge to form a new entity named Helius Health.
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