Benzinga | Jul 29, 2021 07:52AM EDT

Flora Growth Signs Letter Of Intent With An International Distributor Based In Australia To Provide Raw And Finished Medical Cannabis Products For Medical Cannabis Patients

* Flora signs Letter of Intent with an international distributor based in Australia to provide raw and finished medical cannabis products for medical cannabis patients

* Recent Colombian legislative update allows for the sale and export of raw cannabis materials, namely dried flower, in addition to derivatives, to international markets

* Australian medical cannabis market estimated to surpass AU$200 million in 2021 and US$1.5 billion by 2025, with patient numbers growing exponentially in recent years

* Estimates predict the pharmacist-only CBD market in Australia itself will grow to AU$250 million in product sales at market maturity, capturing ~2M consumers

* Australian authorities recently down-scheduled cannabidiol ("CBD") from Schedule 4 to Schedule 3, allowing the opportunity for consumers to purchase CBD products over-the-counter



Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ:FLGC) ("Flora" or the "Company"), a leading all-outdoor cultivator and manufacturer of global cannabis products and brands, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Evergreen Pharmacare Pty Ltd. ("Evergreen"), a licensed Australian importer and distributor of medical cannabis products, to supply its premium dried flower and derivative products. The Company expects to ship its medical-grade cannabis products upon completion of its first commercial harvest and obtaining necessary export licenses.

Data firm, FreshLeaf Analytics, forecasts the Australian medical cannabis market to surpass AU$200 million in 2021 and notes strong patient growth metrics by a factor of 15x over the past two years. Furthermore, Prohibition Partners estimates that the Australian medical cannabis market could reach US$1.5 billion by 2025.

Evergreen works with patients and healthcare practitioners, primarily physicians and pharmacists, to provide medical cannabis products and to educate about the authorization and use of medical cannabis. Evergreen was born out of necessity for its patients to have quicker access to premium, affordable, AUGMP-certified medication via the Special Access Scheme ("SAS") Category B application pathway.

"We are absolutely thrilled to enter into this agreement with Flora and to provide Australian cannabis patients with access to premium medical-grade cannabis products at a more affordable price point than ever before due to Flora's strategic low-cost cultivation and processing operations, as well as their global logistics expertise," said Tristan Hyodo, Chairman of Evergreen. "Additionally, we were very encouraged by the recent decision from the Therapeutic Goods Administration to provide a new product pathway for cannabidiol ("CBD") to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Pharmacy is a natural progression where you can have medical practitioner oversight for patients consuming it for health, while also addressing the accessibility issue seen in other global jurisdictions."

FreshLeaf estimates the pharmacist-only CBD market in Australia will grow to AU$250 million in product sales at market maturity, capturing around 2 million consumers, and also expects that many existing medical cannabis patients will migrate to the pharmacy channel once low-dose CBD products become available over-the-counter. Currently, almost 1-in-4 medicinal cannabis patients take a CBD product at a daily dose below 150mg, spending an average of $8.02 per day, or based on the current medical patient metrics, million annually.

"The agreement with Evergreen will allow us to establish a local partner in Australia while generating incremental revenue from our Colombian cannabis facility and as legislation evolves within Australia," said Jason Warnock, Chief Revenue Officer of Flora Growth. "This agreement also provides significant potential upside by allowing us to work with Australian regulators directly and bring our premium brands and established product formulations to the over-the-counter CBD market. Down-scheduling CBD fits well with Flora's long term consumer product strategy of providing proven cannabinoid wellness and beauty products to consumers around the world and we are excited to work with our partners on this new opportunity."

This LOI is the second that Flora has signed since the Colombian government revised its cannabis laws aimed at improving access to cannabis products for Colombians and positioning Colombian cultivators and processors as the leaders to supply the global cannabis market (see press release dated July 26, 2021, for full details on the impact of the legislative announcement to Flora Growth).