PharmaCielo Ltd., the Canadian parent of Colombia’s premier cultivator and producer of medicinal-grade cannabis extracts, PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., provided an update on its operations in Mexico, in light of the country’s continued advancement of legislation to legalize the use of recreational cannabis in the country. On March 10th, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies voted 316 to 129 to advance a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis use in the country (the “Bill”).
This follows the move by Mexico’s health ministry in January, to publish a much-anticipated legal framework for the medical cannabis space, including a provision for the import of medicinal extracts and products. Through PharmaCielo S.A. de C.V. (“PharmaCielo Mexico”), a joint venture with MINO Labs S.A. de C.V. (“MINO Labs”), a specialty pharmaceutical company and medical supply distributor based in Mexico, the Company is well-positioned to become a preferred supplier in the country.
Henning von Koss, CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd., commented, “Mexican cannabis legalization has had several stops and starts since 2018, but with the recent release of medicinal guidelines and Wednesday night’s vote to continue advancing the Bill, the country looks poised to legalize and become the largest cannabis market in the world, sooner rather than later. PharmaCielo Mexico is positioned to become a preferred B2B supplier in the country, backed by PharmaCielo’s broad extract portfolio, scale and flexibility, and MINO Labs’ long track record of success in the market.”
Manuel Cosme Odabachian, CEO of MINO Labs, added, “For more than 20 years, MINO Labs has been a leader in the Mexican specialty pharmaceutical distribution sector. The interest among our existing customer base for high quality cannabis extracts and value-added formulations has been growing as Mexican cannabis legalization has advanced over the past two years. We expect significant demand when the market opens and are very encouraged by the news that recreational cannabis legalization will continue to move forward, toward the April deadline provided by the Supreme Court.”
PharmaCielo Mexico was established in 2019 to bring PharmaCielo’s high-quality cannabis extracts and derivative products to the Mexican market, leveraging MINO Labs’ extensive experience and broad presence in the country’s pharmaceutical space. Following a Colombian site visit by MINO Labs in February 2021, PharmaCielo has submitted a request to initiate the Mexican GMP audit process, which the Company expects to be complete by the end of Q2’21, depending on the Mexican Authorities’ availability. With the voting of the Bill, PharmaCielo Mexico will immediately initiate the process to obtain an import license for cannabis products in Mexico. PharmaCielo is currently producing extracts in compliance with EU-GMP guidelines.
Distribution of cannabis products by PharmaCielo in Mexico will be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange .
PharmaCielo Ltd. is a global company, headquartered in Canada, with a focus on ethical and sustainable processing and supplying of all natural, medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products to large channel distributors. PharmaCielo’s principal (and wholly owned) subsidiary is PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., headquartered at its cultivation and processing centre located in Rionegro, Colombia.
