New Zealand Approves Domestic Medical Cannabis Products

New Zealand’s health authorities last week began allowing the use of domestically produced medical cannabis products, ending patients’ dependence on imported medical marijuana products. The Ministry of Health allowed access to local medicines from September 9th, opening a new opportunity for New Zealand cannabis breeders and producers.

Under New Zealand’s medical cannabis laws, any licensed general practitioner can prescribe cannabis medication to any patient to treat any health condition. But as of 2017, only imported cannabis medicines have been approved for patient use, notes Tim Aldridge, chief executive of cannabis breeder Puro New Zealand.

“Previously, New Zealand patients could only be prescribed medicinal cannabis grown overseas, with the vast majority imported from Australia and Canada,” Aldridge said in a statement.

Puro New Zealand grows organically produced cannabis at its outdoor facility in the country’s South Island. Earlier this year, the company signed a five-year, multimillion-dollar deal to supply cannabis to Helius Therapeutics, a company that manufactures cannabinoid medicines at its East Auckland facility. Carmen Doran, managing director of Helius, noted that a change in legislation now allows New Zealand patients access to the company’s products.

“In 2018, Parliament’s legislative intention to improve access and affordability was clear,” Doran said. “The ensuing medicinal cannabis program has also pushed for locally grown and manufactured medicinal cannabis. This national ambition to better serve long-suffering Kiwi patients has finally become a reality and it is exciting.”

“This is great news for many patients who have long sought legal access to medicinal cannabis products grown and manufactured in New Zealand,” added Doran.

Medicines approved for the local market

On Tuesday, Helius was informed by the Health Ministry that two of its drugs had passed quality standard tests, a requirement that must be met before cannabis products can enter the local market under regulations passed in 2019. New Zealand already has 35 cannabis companies in the country, with Helius Therapeutics being the largest in the country.

Helius was New Zealand’s first medicinal cannabis company to receive a GMP license to manufacture medicinal products in July 2021 and launched its first products three months later. The new products will be launched first in New Zealand before being rolled out internationally, with Europe and South America already identified as priority overseas markets for the company.

“The approval of medical cannabis products that are truly grown and manufactured in New Zealand is a significant milestone for our industry,” said Doran. “Local patients and their advocates have fought long and hard for genuine kiwifruit products that are both high quality and affordable.”

Aldridge said his company spent four years bringing its operations up to government standards.

“It wasn’t always easy,” Aldridge said. “It was a massive undertaking navigating this new industry, confronting the regulations and growing a new culture at scale.”

Though the work to develop local infrastructure for cannabis production hasn’t been easy, he says patients will soon reap the rewards. Locally manufactured cannabis medicines are expected to cost patients half as much as imported medicines.

Helius’ Doran said that having a local source for CBD and other cannabis products will help patients in New Zealand have access to their medicines, noting that global logistical challenges over the past two years have hampered imports of cannabis products from producers in the have affected abroad.

“We have experienced significant delays and disruptions in the availability of imported products as COVID continues to impact supply chains,” Doran said. “It is worrying for patients and prescribing doctors when products that transform people’s lives are not available. Products grown and manufactured entirely in New Zealand will help alleviate such problems.”