Motagon becomes the first Czech company to establish medical cannabis supply from Australia/New Zealand

Sep 24, 2022

August 1, 2022, Prague – Motagon has announced today that it has entered into an exclusive five-year cooperation with New Zealand-based Rua Biosciences. Thanks to this agreement, top-quality medical cannabis products will be available not only in the Czech Republic but also in other countries in the CEEC region.

Motagon was established two years ago with the aim of bringing new and innovative cannabis products from around the world to the European market. Motagon is a subsidiary of the renowned Czech pharmaceutical company Heaton, which has been active in the European pharmaceutical sector for more than 20 years, having built its network throughout most of Europe.

“One of our goals is to establish contacts and long-term cooperation with companies such as Rua Biosciences, which has the capacity and know-how to supply standardized cannabis products of the highest quality to Czech and other regional pharmacies through our distribution channels,” explains Jaromír Frič, CEO of Heaton and also Chairman of Motagon. Alongside building its network externally, Motagon focuses heavily on internal capabilities as well, one of the prime examples being the upcoming GMP license, which is expected by the end of 2022 (currently Motagon operates under Heaton’s GMP license).

Motagon has already formed a strategic partnership in Poland, where the products from Rua Biosciences will be heading first. “Our presence with top-quality medical cannabis products on the Czech market combined with the newly established agreement with Rua allows us to further expand our position within the medical cannabis sector in the CEEC region,” says Jan Mehner, Motagon’s CEO, adding that “being a frontrunner in the CEEC region is one of the cornerstones in our strategy to become one of the leading players in the pan-European medical cannabis industry”.

“The collaboration agreement will make Rua the dominant Australasian supplier of cannabis-based medicines to Europe,” says Dr Andi Grant, Chief Commercial Officer at Rua Biosciences. This is great news for European doctors and especially patients, as they will be able to choose from a wider range of products and varieties with diverse cannabinoid and terpene profiles. “With this agreement, Rua will be able to supply not only dried flowers but also a range of full-spectrum extracts to Europe for at least five years,” says Rob Mitchell, CEO of Rua Biosciences.

Within Central and Eastern Europe, the two companies have agreed on the first option to procure allowing Motagon to be the primary and preferred distributor of Rua Biosciences’ products in the whole CEEC region, including Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Albania and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. This partnership confirms Prague’s importance as a center for the development of medicinal cannabis in the European Union.

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