The deal was announced today by Tilray Inc: the cannabis company just joined forces with Big Pharma. Tilray is a licensed manufacturer of medical marijuana products. The Toronto-based firm has production operations in British Columbia. The company just signed an exclusive agreement with Sandoz Canada of Quebec. Sandoz is a subsidiary of Sandoz International, part of the Novartis healthcare conglomerate.
A Tilray executive says this is the first time a cannabis company has entered into a deal with Big Pharma in Canada.
Under the new deal, Tilray will be the sole partner to create non-combustible medical cannabis products with Sandoz. Together, the two companies will make co-branded capsules, topicals, sprays and similar medicines.
Brendan Kennedy is the president and CEO of Tilray. He told reporters that his firm had considered a deal with several other pharma companies before settling on Sandoz.
“A lot of pharmaceutical companies are paying attention to what’s happening in this industry, and over the past few years, we’ve had conversations with a few of them… This is a huge milestone for us,” Kennedy told reporters.
Deal Puts A Familiar Name On New Products
Kennedy says that for many patients, there is still a stigma attached to cannabis. Therefore, they may be reluctant to try medical marijuana products.
The alliance with Sandoz puts a recognizable name on medicines newly on the market. Consequently, patients, doctors and drug stores are more likely to accept them.
“That was part of the opportunity we saw… To distribute Tilray products that have the Sandoz logo that pharmacists, physicians, and patients are used to seeing in their pharmaceutical packages. I think that will give physicians confidence and trust in our brand and our product,” he said in an interview.