Tilray Inc., a key player across Canada medical marijuana sector, has entered into a partnership with Sandoz Canada Inc., a leading manufacturer, promoter, and distributor of generic drugs. In a first such collaboration witnessed between a cannabis & pharma firm, Tilray Inc. has signed a letter of intent with the renowned Quebec-based Sandoz, a part of the healthcare firm Novartis.
As per the terms & conditions of the deal, Tilray will collaborate entirely with Sandoz for promoting non-combustible medical marijuana products such as sprays and gel caps across the local market. The CEO of Tilray Inc., Brendan Kennedy, has been quoted stating that the main aim of this partnership is to distribute the co-branded items to hospitals & pharmacies across the country.
Experts believe that with the Canadian government legitimizing the use of cannabis later this year, the pact between the two Canadian firms has justified the adoption of medical marijuana as a drug for curative purposes. The strategic business decision of Tilray is believed to be based on the patient & physician perspective of actually viewing medical marijuana products in the regular pill & cream form.
Authentic reports reveal that Canadian firms such as Loblaw Companies Limited, University of Waterloo’s student union, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have already covered the medical cannabis costs for their employees.
As per the current figures displayed by Health Canada, there were nearly 235,621 registered medical cannabis patients by September 2017, which was 35% more than that of 174,503 in April 2017. The number of doctors providing a medical document for the customer, who procured cannabis from a licensed medical marijuana manufacturer, was 10,433 by September 2017. Industry analysts, in this regard, affirm that the pharma sector has been positioning itself for distributing recreational marijuana to the patients & doctors via dealers as well as distributors.