New Zealand cannabis company Rua Bioscience is shutting down its domestic GMP manufacturing operations, cutting two positions as it redirects its strategy toward building an "international product pipeline."
The company announced it will partner with contract manufacturers to give New Zealanders access to a "wider range of affordable medicines."
The strategic change, coming just one month after Paul Naske was appointed chief executive, affects the production of one product, Rua said in a statement, though the company noted there is "ample stock" on hand.
"The company remains committed to developing a domestic product pipeline, ensuring prescribers and patients have access to medicines, and will update prescribers with those details in the near future," Naske said.
"Rua will work with manufacturing partners to build out our product portfolio while developing branded products utilising our internally developed IP."
The self-described "export-led" company also intends to develop "valuable points of difference in the areas of genetic discovery."
Naske added: "To capture value and encourage growth we will focus on our key strengths – leveraging our global-scale supply agreement and established sales and marketing partnerships across Europe to build a sustainable global company, while our world-class cultivation team in Ruatorea works on unique genetics for our established and future product pipelines."
Rua said it is pushing ahead with plans to enter the German market, with Poland and other emerging markets also in its sights.
Outgoing chairman Trevor Burt said the company was in "advanced negotiations" across high-value European markets, while opportunities in Australia were also under active consideration.
"Our intellectual property strategy maintains its focus on plant discovery and breeding, and the formulation of unique finished products; and we remain committed to building a sustainable business that creates intergenerational opportunity in Te Tairawhiti (Gisborne region)," he said.
