Curaleaf Worldwide is already one of the crucial outstanding hashish corporations on this planet, with a presence within the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Regardless of its vital current world footprint, the corporate has had a busy begin to the yr, seeing a close to 60% development in revenues over the primary quarter, because it continues to make strategic acquisitions to bolster its place within the flourishing European medical market.
Forward of Hashish Europa subsequent week, the place Curaleaf’s Government Chairman, Boris Jordan, Curaleaf Worldwide’s Managing Director of the UK & Nordics, Jonathan Hodgson, and the pinnacle of Curaleaf Worldwide, Juan Martinez, shall be talking, we caught up with Juan to debate the corporate’s progress in Europe and what he expects for the way forward for the quickly rising market.
BofC: Curaleaf Worldwide has had a busy begin to 2024, are you able to give us an outline of your actions all through Europe to this point this yr?
Juan Martinez: It’s been a incredible begin to the yr for us at Curaleaf. Our worldwide enterprise noticed a 59% year-over-year income development within the first quarter, because of the sturdy medical hashish markets in our key areas such because the UK, Germany, and Poland. We’ve additionally been constructing model consciousness in rising markets like Switzerland, Czechia, and Sweden.
We kicked off the yr with a very optimistic rebrand of our UK clinic from Sapphire Clinics to Curaleaf Clinics. The UK has additionally seen sturdy affected person reception to our increasing product providing together with pastilles and vapes.
In February, we accomplished the acquisition of Can4Med, a significant pharmaceutical wholesaler in Poland. With a inhabitants of 38 million folks, Poland is proving to be a powerful marketplace for us because the nation is witnessing a political and societal shift in the direction of hashish more and more accepted as a medication by sufferers and medical doctors alike.
To additional bolster our place in Europe, in late March, we introduced the acquisition of Northern Inexperienced Canada, an EU-GMP licensed producer of high-quality indoor flower. Not solely is NGC transaction accretive to our worldwide gross margins, however it additionally ensures the steadiness of our provide chain into Europe. An additional benefit from this transaction is the flexibility to check 2 different high-growth medical hashish markets NGC presently sells into, Australia and New Zealand. This acquisition represents one other key pillar within the improvement of our world model technique.
In Sweden, eligible sufferers can now entry medical hashish by way of Sapphire Clinics for the primary time this yr. The clinic specialises in cannabis-based medication and can contribute affected person information to a brand new examine on the Karolinska Institute, Sweden’s largest medical analysis college.
In fact, in Germany, the enactment of Pillar 1 laws, decriminalising hashish by eradicating it from the narcotics record, is a big domino to fall. Within the first few months because the legislation took impact, we have now seen a considerable enhance in affected person counts which have surpassed expectations. And whereas nonetheless early, the indicators are very promising for Curaleaf. We anticipate different EU areas will comply with go well with and foster a extra enlightened method to hashish laws.
We’re a number one world operator and can proceed to press our benefit to drive additional market share positive factors. It has definitely been a busy begin to the yr as we proceed to develop a worldwide model technique which makes use of our expertise, medical analysis, and unmatched world provide chain to steer in Europe and past.
BofC: Has this exercise been pushed by a rising sense of momentum and acceptance of hashish all through the continent?
Juan Martinez: As a part of the biggest hashish firm, our long run imaginative and prescient is to persistently ship superior merchandise and to assist drive the worldwide acceptance of hashish. The hashish market in Europe has developed so much in recent times and we’ll proceed to broaden and enhance affected person entry as laws evolve each in Europe and internationally.
Modifications in legislation in international locations comparable to Malta, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Czechia, and most importantly, Germany, have demonstrated this pattern. There have been some notable occasions, together with Switzerland’s first regulated gross sales of adult-use hashish and Malta’s first authorized non-profit hashish membership which opened in January 2024. Over 20 European international locations now enable medicinal hashish use in a technique, form or kind, with Germany taking the pole place. This development presents huge alternatives for corporations like us at Curaleaf Worldwide to satisfy the rising demand for medical hashish services.
Curaleaf is strongly supportive of the motion towards hashish legalisation throughout the continent, it’s a optimistic improvement for the trade and public well being.
BofC: Let’s begin with Germany. The elimination of medical hashish from the record of narcotics has, in keeping with quite a few sources, pushed fast development within the personal market, is that this one thing you’ve seen at 4 20 Pharma?
Juan Martinez: Sure, as one of many largest wholesalers and types available in the market, we have now seen exponential development at Four20 Pharma because the elimination of narcotics record.
On-line teleclinics comparable to Algea Care, have handled over 100,000 sufferers within the first two weeks because the reclassification, and pharmacy re-orders proceed to develop as they adapt to the altering provide chain – with Four20 Pharma as one of many main constant high quality wholesalers within the nation, we have now definitely felt that enhance.
With the dramatic enhance in accessibility and the quantity of telemedicine clinics providing inexpensive session and product costs, affected person numbers are growing, and we’re persevering with to see a pointy enhance in demand since April 1.
BofC: Are there plans to construct in your presence available in the market now that CanG has been handed?
Juan Martinez: Curaleaf is all the time on the lookout for methods to extend shareholder worth, ship product excellence and enhance affected person entry.
Germany’s extremely anticipated ‘Pillar 2’, is now being labored on by the German authorities and we’re additionally anticipating additional modifications to the Pillar I through proposed amendments. These modifications in laws will definitely result in us having an elevated presence within the German market. We’ll preserve investing in infrastructure and providers to satisfy the growing demand and take advantage of the expansion alternatives from the brand new Hashish Act
BofC: What impression do you suppose CanG has had on the broader attitudes to hashish amongst European policymakers?
Juan Martinez: The passage of the Hashish Act (CanG) in Germany has definitely had a big impression on the broader attitudes towards hashish amongst European policymakers. As Germany is among the largest and most influential international locations in Europe, its progressive stance on hashish legalisation is already setting a robust precedent. Europe’s largest financial system may additionally create momentum to vary the UN conference that restricts the cultivation of the plant and likewise places strain on neighbouring European states to comply with Germany’s lead. European international locations which have a much bigger drawback with unlawful hashish use and the failed warfare on medication, like France, are watching very carefully what Germany is doing in the meanwhile.
CanG has proven {that a} main European nation can efficiently implement a regulatory framework that balances public well being, security, and market development. This transfer is prone to encourage different European international locations to contemplate comparable approaches, viewing the German mannequin as a viable template for their very own hashish insurance policies.
We anticipate a wave of coverage re-evaluation throughout the continent, with extra international locations adopting a liberal method to hashish. This could end in harmonising hashish legal guidelines inside the European Union, selling simpler cross-border commerce and the standardisation of high quality and security requirements.
It’s no shock to me that because the world rolls again the ineffective warfare on medication, and as sufferers more and more have authorized entry to hashish as an possibility, the utilization on this inhabitants is growing. At Curaleaf, we’re devoted to accumulating and offering evidence-based data for sufferers, researchers and medical practitioners to allow them to make knowledgeable choices about utilizing cannabis-based medicines.
One week to go!
We’re gearing up for @cannabiseuropa, the convention that brings collectively the brightest minds and most influential voices within the hashish trade.
As headline accomplice, our group shall be well-represented with 4 excellent audio system:
– @Boris_Jordan, Chief… https://t.co/oY1ZQCmelw
— Curaleaf Worldwide (@curaleafint) June 18, 2024
BofC: Prohibition Companions lately reported that the ‘UK is now the first driver of development in Europe’s medical hashish market’, largely resulting from ‘unusually excessive’ consumption charges, what do you suppose is behind these ranges of consumption?
Juan Martinez: The start of 2024 has already proven vital development, with a file variety of UK personal clinics now offering medical hashish therapy for decrease appointment prices than ever earlier than. Extra formulations and dosage types have entered the market, comparable to pastilles and liquid vape cartridges, broadening the therapy choices out there for specialists to prescribe to sufferers.
At our personal clinic, we have now not seen ‘unusually excessive’ consumption charges, and truly, consumption charges are decrease than these in Israel and Germany, for instance. Nevertheless, affected person advocacy is boosting consciousness and making hashish extra accessible, whereas higher provide chains guarantee it’s all the time out there. Funding in R&D is resulting in new types of hashish therapies, growing the vary out there and bettering affected person alternative.
BofC: Not like Germany, the UK appears to be a lot additional away from enacting any main hashish reform. As its greatest operator, what attracts you to the market?
Juan Martinez: Curaleaf was the very first clinic within the UK to be given approval by the Care High quality Fee (CQC) to prescribe hashish primarily based medical merchandise and we have now all the time been dedicated to bettering entry within the UK market. We’re proud to have the biggest and highest-rated medical hashish clinic within the UK. Curaleaf clinic is all about making medical hashish extra accessible for sufferers, educating the general public and medical group, and utilising data-driven insights to help this mission.
Given its wealthy historical past of biomedical collaboration, the UK notably excels in real-world information assortment. By affected person registries and facilitating drug improvement, the UK is in pole place to steer the change. As an illustration, our initiative of making the UK Medical Hashish Registry gives priceless insights into affected person outcomes, informing medical trials and pre-clinical analysis to enhance cannabis-based drugs. This optimistic suggestions loop is exclusive in drug improvement and will help overcome the inherent analysis challenges in growing hashish primarily based medicines, hopefully resulting in extra licensed drugs and advantages to a bigger affected person inhabitants.
Nevertheless, there’s nonetheless lots of work to do by way of consciousness. We estimate there are over 45,000 medical hashish sufferers within the UK, which represents lower than 0.1% of the inhabitants. Nevertheless, over 1.8 million Britons are estimated to be utilizing hashish within the illicit market. To place that into context, Florida, a US medical market, has virtually 900,000 sufferers, or 4.0% of the inhabitants.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve turn out to be a founding member of a brand new activity pressure, referred to as the UK Cannabinoid Analysis and Improvement Group (CRDG), which goals to make the UK a worldwide chief in hashish and cannabinoid analysis. Led by George Freeman MP and Professor Trevor Jones, this initiative will convey collectively universities, analysis establishments, buyers, companies, and the NHS to deepen our understanding of hashish. The duty pressure is presently engaged on the nation’s first complete cannabinoid R&D technique, filling an enormous hole since medical hashish was reclassified in 2018. Proper now, there are solely three licensed cannabis-based medicines within the UK. With backing from trade companions like Curaleaf Worldwide, we look ahead to the duty pressure sharing its plans and releasing its preliminary technique paper in July.
BofC: Curaleaf lately acquired Northern Inexperienced Canada (NGC), which was billed as a ‘vital milestone in Curaleaf’s enlargement technique’. Are you able to stroll me by way of how that is driving your European enlargement?
Juan Martinez: Curaleaf’s latest acquisition of Northern Inexperienced Canada (NGC) considerably bolsters our world enlargement technique.
NGC was the primary privately-owned Canadian licensed producer of hashish to have EU GMP certification and in 2023 over 95% of their Income was attributed to worldwide markets. Their best-in-class indoor facility ensures a safe and constant provide of EU-GMP hashish that adheres to high-quality requirements. That is essential for the continued success of our Four20 model in Germany, guaranteeing product availability to satisfy affected person demand and preserve one of many main positions inside this quickly evolving market.
Second, as NGC was already a key provider to each our Four20 Pharma model in Germany and our Curaleaf UK model, the mixing of NGC into our provide chains will increase gross margins by way of vertical integration, permitting for strategic reinvestment to additional propel our enlargement and R&D efforts.
Lastly, an additional benefit from this transaction is the opening up of recent markets to Curaleaf together with Australia and New Zealand.
BofC: Within the announcement, there was point out of capitalising in your first mover benefit in Poland, are you able to inform me in regards to the alternatives on this market?
Juan Martinez: Poland’s medical hashish market is increasing quickly, and our partnership with Can4Med permits us to higher serve sufferers whereas driving development throughout Europe. This acquisition permits us to effectively distribute merchandise and solidify our presence on this thrilling market.
Information from Polish well being authorities reveals a dramatic enhance in medical hashish prescriptions since legalisation in 2017, and this pattern is predicted to proceed. For instance, information from the Polish Ministry of Well being signifies a threefold enhance available in the market between 2022 and 2023.
We’re additionally targeted on physician schooling and have been seeing a rise within the variety of medical doctors who’re prescribing cannabis-based medication. By bringing Can4Med and NGC into Curaleaf Worldwide, we will help sufferers extra successfully, guarantee continuity of high-quality provide, and broaden our product choices to serve a inhabitants of almost 1.3 million hashish customers anticipated by 2026.
BofC: Equally, Curaleaf lately introduced that it was shifting into Sweden for an observational examine with the Karolinska Institute, may this probably open up the market?
Juan Martinez: Our latest enlargement into Sweden through Sapphire Clinics, holds vital promise for opening up the medical hashish market there and permits us to leverage the experience and insights gained from our presence in different medical market.
The observational examine, in partnership with the Karolinska Institute, will collect essential information on the protection and efficacy of medical hashish particularly for Swedish sufferers. This data is important for shaping future insurance policies round medical hashish use. With rising proof and the event of worldwide medical tips, using cannabis-based medicines as a therapy possibility is growing all over the world.
