Clever Leaves Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CLVR, CLVRW) (“Clever Leaves” or the “Company”), a leading multinational operator and licensed producer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids, today announces a four-year take or pay supply agreement with a leading Australian medicinal cannabis company, Australian Natural Therapeutics Group (“ANTG”), to supply CBD isolate and GMP certified THC crude oil from its operation in Colombia and THC dried flower from its GACP- certified operation in Portugal.
Over the term of the agreement, ANTG has committed to purchasing a minimum of US$7.8M worth of product, with the next shipment planned for March 2022.
This marks the largest supply agreement Clever Leaves has signed with an Australian cannabis company, assisting the company’s growth as an emerging global leader in medical cannabis supply.
The Australian medical cannabis market is rapidly expanding and is expected to grow to US $1.2 billion by 2027, the 5th largest in the world.
ANTG will utilize Clever Leaves’ products to produce locally manufactured prescription medications certified to global standards, including the Australian Good Manufacturing Practice (AU-GMP) and Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP). ANTG will also use Clever Leaves’ products for research and development purposes.
“Australia is a rapidly expanding market, and increasing product shipments to the country allows Clever Leaves to accelerate market growth further,” said Andrés Fajardo, President and incoming CEO of Clever Leaves. “ANTG’s research focus, pharmaceutical certifications and distribution capabilities are aligned with our mission to produce high-quality cannabinoid-based medicinal treatments that can meet patient needs.”
“Great patient outcomes based on our central principles of quality and purity are at the heart of everything we do,” said Matthew Cantelo, CEO of ANTG. “We look forward to adding Clever Leaves’ high-quality APIs to our expanding range of premium products ensuring continuing supply and a greater choice of high-quality affordable medicines for all our patients in Australia.”
In Australia, medical cannabis is used to treat thousands of patients each year for conditions including anxiety, inflammation, seizures and pain management. Over 180,000 Australians have been approved access to medicinal cannabis through the Therapeutic Goods Administration special access scheme (SAS-B), with thousands more through an authorized prescriber.
Beyond the rising growth in registrations for medical cannabis, there is also increasing interest in local clinical research, working to demonstrate the efficacy of the products for many medical conditions. Current research areas include sleep apnea, PTSD, cancer, depression and dementia, among others. The rates for access to medical cannabis are expected to continue to increase in 2022.
Both Clever Leaves and ANTG are devoting considerable efforts to ensure all clinically approved Australians can access high-quality, certified and affordable medicinal cannabis products.
