Tilray's wholly-owned subsidiary in Germany, Aphria RX GmbH, has completed the first successful harvest of medical cannabis cultivated in Germany for distribution to German pharmacies. The medical cannabis harvest is the first cultivated under European Good Manufacturing Practices (EU GMP) standard at Tilray’s state-of-the-art 6,000 square meter indoor growing facility in Neumünster, Germany. The subsequent distribution, which was carried out by a distributor on behalf of the German Cannabis Agency and in accordance with all pharmaceutical and narcotic legal requirements, underscores Tilray’s strong foothold and operational excellence within Europe’s key medical cannabis market.
“Our harvest in Germany represents an important milestone in granting access to high-quality and trustworthy medical cannabis to patients and healthcare professionals in Germany,” said Denise Faltischek, Tilray's Head of International and Chief Strategy Officer. “It is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our team that, despite the challenges of a global pandemic, we remained on track as the first licensed producer to cultivate medical cannabis in Germany. Our achievement would not have been possible without the trust and cooperation of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and the Germany Cannabis Agency, for which we are sincerely grateful.”
Since Germany’s Cannabis as Medicines Act was enacted in March 2017, the country has relied exclusively on imports to meet the growing medical demand currently estimated at well over 100,000 patients. Tilray’s ongoing domestic harvest and production will play an indispensable role in ensuring that patient needs are met with products of the highest quality medical cannabis while at the same time reducing dependence on imported supply.
Irwin D. Simon, Tilray’s Chief Executive Officer, added, “The European Union represents a powerful growth market for us and, among its constituent markets, Germany possesses the greatest potential. We look forward to leveraging our strong medical platform and our multifaceted international operation, which combines in-country cultivation, importation, and large distribution infrastructure, to increase access and availability to high-quality, consistent medical cannabis for all European patients.”
Mr. Simon concluded, “Tilray’s achievement in Germany serves as a strong affirmation that we are competitively differentiated by scale and proven execution skills. As a result, we are poised to transform the industry globally with our highly scalable footprint, portfolio of diverse medical cannabis brands, and compelling products that respond to a wide range of patient and consumer needs. The E.U. is central to our worldwide distribution network, and we look forward to accelerating our progress.”
Tilray has a pioneering track record as a company committed to making GMP-certified, pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products available to patients in need worldwide and was the first to successfully export medical cannabis from Canada and import medical cannabis products into the E.U. in 2016.
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