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With production now underway at its state-of-the-art Canadian cannabis facility, Creso Pharma (ASX: CPH) has gained access to one of the world's largest economies.
Last week Creso announced it had received approval to import its first medicinal cannabis product into Brazil, a market with around 209 million people where the first medical cannabis licence was only granted in 2017.
Brazilian health regulatory agency ANVISA has approved cannaQIX® 50, a product that helps patients with neuropathic and cancer-related pain.
The product has also been launched with commercial partners Doetsch Grether and Pharmacare in Switzerland and the UK respectively, where it has recorded steady growth.
Creso's foray into Brazil is in partnership with SIN Solution, which provides support and marketing to doctors and patients, with access to more than 350,000 health professionals and over 200,000 patients.
The first focus of marketing, sales and patient support activities will be in the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Curitiba (Parana), which have a combined population of more than 22 million people.
The main targets are doctors working in the fields of oncology and neurology with an initial estimated addressable market of over 50,000 patients.
Creso will import cannaQIX®50 through MedDepot, an established Brazilian company based in San Paulo with links to Miami-headquartered SR Group.
The company highlights cannaQIX®50 was developed to Good Manufacturing Practice standards and is produced in Switzerland by Creso's partner Swiss-based food and pharma development company Domaco.
"We are excited to receive this ANVISA approval for our first medicinal cannabis product for the Brazilian market," says Creso's commercial director Jorge Wernli.
"We can now provide patients in Brazil with access to the cannaQIX® 50 product line which has additional benefits, particularly bioavailabilty, compared to currently available medical cannabis oils on the market.
"The challenge with medical cannabis products is the efficient delivery of the natural full spectrum plant substances to the body a challenge that we at Creso have managed to overcome."
SIN Solution director Alessandra Cesar says her team is excited to be working with Creso on this marketing initiative.
"Patients' access to these new medical cannabis products with improved delivery systems will provide greater benefits and lead to a positive health-economic impact on the Brazilian healthcare system," she says.
Last year Brazil elected a new president in Jair Bolsonaro who has taken a strong-arm approach to drug crime and is against the legalisation of recreational cannabis, however to date he has not taken a decisive position on the existing medicinal marijuana framework.
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