Australian medicinal cannabis company Zelira Therapeutics (ASX:ZLD) has announced a commercial supply agreement with Tasmanian Alkaloids (TasAlk) to manufacture the Insomnia and HOPE medicinal cannabis formulations.
TasAlk is a leader in the extraction and purification of high-value plant-derived products for the pharmaceutical industry and has added medicinal cannabis products and services to its portfolio.
Under the agreement, TasAlk will have exclusive rights to manufacture Zelira’s Insomnia and HOPE formulations, initially for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for the first year and then on a semi-exclusive basis for the subsequent three years. In Australia, all products will be supplied to patients under the TGA's Special Access Scheme (SAS).
Zelira said it expects to launch the Insomnia and HOPE products in Australia in the third quarter of 2020.
The company said the manufacture and analytical method for the Insomnia product are under technical transfer to TasAlk from a European manufacturer that supplied material for the recent insomnia clinical trial.
According to Zelira managing director ex-US, Dr Richard Hopkins, “We’re delighted to be partnering with TasAlk, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical-grade plant-derived medicines. The agreement reaffirms our commitment to bring our clinically validated products to market in 2020.”
TasAlk CEO, Dr Ross Murdoch said, “This agreement aligns with our business model and expertise in providing clinical trial materials. It provides the foundation for a long-term partnership that has potential to open up supply opportunities in major world markets for Zelira’s products.”