Apollon Formularies Plc Apollon grants an Exclusive Licence Agreement to PureCann, South Africa
24 July 2023 - 8:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAPOL
24 July 2023
Apollon Formularies Plc
Apollon grants an Exclusive Licence Agreement to PureCann, South Africa
Apollon Formularies plc (AQSE: APOL, "Apollon" or the "Company"), a UK based
international pharmaceutical company trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange, is
pleased to announce that it has signed an Exclusive License Agreement
with PureCann Pty Ltd. ("PureCann"), a South African based medical cannabis
company, which will produce, and actively distribute the entire Apollon product
range throughout their dispensary network currently being rolled out in South
Africa. The license includes the rights to distribute Apollon proprietary
medicinal products to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and
throughout the African continent where medical cannabis is legally available
once the relevant export licenses have been secured by PureCann for these
regions.
Transaction Highlights:
· Apollon will receive a once off licensing fee of £100'000 as well as an
ongoing royalty of 6% of gross profit on sales by PureCann for the entire term
of the licence.
· Apollon grants PureCann an Exclusive Licence which gives PureCann the
rights to Apollon's Patent applications, Proprietary Formulations, Patient
Protocols and access to the technology relating to formulations which showed
successful cancer cell killing in the BIOENSIS pre-clinical studies.
· Apollon will benefit from brand exposure and sales royalties in PureCann's
licensed medical cannabis dispensaries as well as PureCann's treatment
facilities planning on being rolled out in Q4 of 2023.
· Further Sub-Licence revenue will be applicable at a commercially favourable
split between Apollon and PureCann where PureCann are able to enter into sub
license agreements with the other nine African countries where medicinal
cannabis is legally available to patients in those jurisdictions under a Sales
and Distribution agreement along with further jurisdictions which may legalise
in the term of this licence agreement.
· Apollon will also benefit from crucial clinical data and royalties generated
from PureCann's Treatment centre in Cape Town, South Africa in the near future.
Background
Since September 2022 Apollon has been in confidential discussions with the
Directors of PureCann with the view to entering into a mutually beneficial
commercial relationship via an Exclusive License Agreement. PureCann is in the
process of rolling out 28 medical cannabis dispensaries nationally and has
already gained good traction by adding over 200 eligible medical cannabis
patients in their first month of trading.
Apollon will benefit greatly from PureCann's current network where they have
contractual agreements with multiple GACP/GMP cultivators where together we
would have access to high-quality low-cost biomass reducing input costs
dramatically across the production chain. PureCann also has access to two GMP
extraction facilities meaning they can fully produce a complete range of
certified cannabis based medicinal products'(CBMP's) for use locally within
South Africa but also for export markets in Africa and back to Europe where
together we would have a competitive advantage on cost across the board from
plant to patient.
PureCann will benefit from Apollon's vast experience in extraction and
processing techniques, pharmaceutical level drug development, clinical trial
knowledge, patient treatment protocols by experienced physicians with medical
cannabis treatment experience, the exclusive rights to Apollon's proprietary
formulations along with all relevant patents filed under PCT and recently
entered national phase admissions and lodged at the South African patent office.
Both companies will benefit substantially from the agreement by providing
ongoing international exposure in multiple international jurisdictions to
markets requiring quality products with proven pre-clinical data. Having a South
African base of operations would improve local access to affordable healthcare
whilst at the same time serving to uplift economic development and job creation.
It would also bolster the local pharmaceutical production capabilities in this
burgeoning economic sector initially within South Africa, but will be expanded
to include the Southern African Development Community ("SADC") with a view to
expanding licensing regimes and CBMP's to the entire African continent currently
comprising of more than 1.4 billion people when they legalize and regularise
each country in the near to mid term.
We are due to get an update from Global Hemp Group in the coming days on our
pending transaction, but we need to carry on with our usual course of business.
Apollon is very pleased to have been able to conclude this Exclusive License
with PureCann. As soon as possible we will inform the market on the status of
our deal with Global Hemp Group in a forthcoming press release to the market.
Dr Stephen D Barnhill, CEO and Chairman of Apollon Formularies, commented,
"My team and I are extremely pleased to have signed an Exclusive Licence
Agreement with PureCann. They have already reached impressive commercial
milestones. As such, we are now able to immediately expand the "Apollon" Brand
along with our full medical product portfolio into South Africa."
"We are looking forward to having a full complement of our formulations for
multiple medical conditions in their network of dispensaries as well as in their
proposed treatment facilities. We are also excited that they have already been
engaging with other African countries to get effective and safe cannabis based
medicinal products to patients in those jurisdictions where legal."
Dr Shan Holmes, Chief Biomedical Scientist of PureCann , stated,
"We are delighted to be working with Apollon Formularies and specifically Dr
Stephen D Barnhill as we grow our business from our base in South Africa. We
will continue to build on Apollon's medical milestones while we bring affordable
and effective medicine to a wider population base. As a scientist with
substantial experience in plant-based medicine, I am excited to be working
shoulder to shoulder with Dr Barnhill and his team in this highly specialist
sector."
"I believe the cannabis sector is starting to experience a `second wave' of
interest, both from a medical and commercial perspective and South Africa is
well placed to position itself to be at the centre of this new dawn."
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this
announcement.
For additional information, please visit www.apollon.org.uk or contact:
Apollon Formularies
Tel: +44 771 198 0221
Stene Jacobs stene@apollon.org.uk
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Adviser)
Tel: +44 207 220 9795
Guy Miller gm@peterhousecapital.com
BlytheRay (Financial PR/IR-London)
Tel: +44 207 138 3204
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray apollon@blytheray.com
About Apollon Formularies and Apollon Formularies Jamaica
Apollon Formularies plc is an international medical cannabis company
headquartered in the United Kingdom. Apollon Formularies Jamaica Limited is a
pharmaceutical company incorporated and operating in the Commonwealth of
Jamaica. Apollon Jamaica is licensed by the Jamaican government's Cannabis
Licensing Authority (CLA) to cultivate, perform research and development,
process, and sell medical cannabis therapeutic products that include legal
medical cannabis to treat various illnesses under medical supervision. Apollon
and Apollon Jamaica are parties to a Commitment Agreement whereby Apollon is
entitled to 95% of Apollon Jamaica's Net Profits, and per a Stock Pledge
Agreement that includes Stephen D. Barnhill, M.D., Apollon is to be assigned the
entire 49% equity interest of Apollon Jamaica held by Dr. Barnhill, which is the
maximum interest in a medical cannabis company allowed to be held by a non
-Jamaican, upon the CLA approving the assignment.
About PureCann
PureCann Pty Ltd is a South African medical cannabis business established in the
Western Cape province of South Africa. PureCann has a seasoned professional team
who have been at the forefront of the cannabis sector since 2015 with
substantial experience in Lesotho and South Africa once medical cannabis was
legalised in 2018. PureCann is in the process of rolling out a substantial
national medical cannabis dispensary network under the brand -"Beleaf" where
onsite licensed physicians will prescribe various Cannabis Based Medicinal
Products (CBMP's) under prescription to eligible patients licensed under the
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority ("SAHPRA"), in terms of S21
and S22C of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act. PureCann comes
with a deep scientific and medical pedigree in both conventional and cannabinoid
medicine and also have multiple contractual agreements currently giving them
access to 33 GACP/GMP cultivators within South Africa.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
END
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