Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD) will bring its HOPE® Franchise to the US state of Louisiana with a licensing agreement that will generate immediate revenue through an up-front fee and ongoing royalties.
HOPE® was launched in Pennsylvania in May 2019 and has shown strong revenue growth after establishing itself as the top-selling medicinal cannabis product line in Pennsylvania.
The pharmaceutical-grade product line HOPE® was developed to specifically address patient symptoms associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Louisiana launch
Zelira Therapeutics Ltd, the newly formed merged company aligning Zelda Therapeutics Ltd, an Australian-based bio-pharmaceutical company, and Ilera Therapeutics LLC, a privately held medicinal cannabis and cannabinoid science company based in Pennsylvania, expects to launch its global strategy to Louisiana by the first quarter of 2020.
The HOPE® formulated proprietary medicinal cannabis product line, which was developed by the Ilera Therapeutics team, has received support from organisations such as HOPE Grows for Autism, a leading autism advocacy group based in Pennsylvania.
Zelira's chairman Osagie Imasogie said: "Our objective is to deliver high-quality, clinically validated products and options to patients and physicians.
“We are thrilled to bring this medicine to Louisiana and its approximately 5 million residents, allowing a broader reach for patient accessibility.
“Additionally, we are engaging the US and international operators to extend the benefits of HOPE® to an even greater patient population while we continue to obtain data and gain additional understanding of the impact of medicinal cannabis on these patients.”
Zelira is licensing HOPE® to Louisiana-based Advance Biomedics LLC so that it can bring HOPE® products to patients throughout the state.
The company will have direct access to the US with over 4-million registered patients as well as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Strategic partnerships
This merger brings a long-term supply and distribution relationships with pharmaceutical-grade manufacturers in Europe and the US ensuring access to commercial-scale quantities of pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis to supply large and growing patient populations.
Deputy chairman Harry Karelis said: “This team has world-class expertise in clinical trial design, drug development, cannabinoid science research and product launch, distribution and management.
"With HOPE® in the US and global markets, we now have the accessibility to address more patient needs and the ability to distribute the HOPE® portfolio through licensing agreements within the US and globally, with expected revenues in the first half of 2020."
Zelira has formed a strategic partnership with European medicinal cannabis group HAPA Pharm BV to access HAPA Pharm’s EU-GMP grade manufacturing capabilities.
The company’s other proprietary product, CAN-001 is being developed for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), which occurs in approximately 80% of the new 23.6 million cases of cancer annually worldwide.