Creso Pharma: A Truly Global Cannabis Company

The North American cannabis industry is littered with companies touting global ambitions. There are regular announcements regarding letters of intent to distribute in emerging markets like Europe and Latin America, long on potential and short on concrete details. Many of these announcements are speculative at best, requiring a mix of regulatory approvals, licensing, product development, and funding to make them a reality.

Creso Pharma. (ASX: CPH) is an Australian-based company with operations in Switzerland, Canada, Colombia, and Israel along with established product distribution across the globe. The company develops and sells pharmaceutical-grade nutraceutical products for both humans and animals. Utilizing its deep background in pharmaceutical science and international regulatory product approvals, Creso Pharma leverages GMP-certified facilities and partnerships with world-class manufacturing and distribution companies to create a global footprint in key markets.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the company’s innovative approach, diverse product portfolio, and why investors may want to take a closer look as it gears up to go public on the Venture exchange in Canada. The listing would make Creso the first public cannabis company listed in both Australia and Canada.

What Creso Has Now

Creso Pharma was founded by a team of executives set on bringing pharmaceutical rigor to the medicinal and recreational cannabis markets. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli has more than 30 years of strategic and operational leadership in global pharmaceutical and biomedical industries in Canada, the U.S., and Switzerland. Co-founder Boaz Wachtel is a leading medical cannabis expert, having co-founded the pioneering Australian Medicinal Cannabis company Phytotech Medical.

In addition to its experienced management team, the company is developing cultivation, processing, extraction, and manufacturing operations, partnering with well-established companies where necessary. In 2017, Creso became the first company to import medicinal cannabis to Australia. The company is also in the final stages of completing the acquisition of licensed Colombian company, Kunna Colombia, which will add a low-cost cultivation operation to supply its own product development. Creso has a joint venture in Israel focused on genetic development, cultivation, and R&D.

Its wholly owned, purpose built, GMP state-of-the-art cultivation and production facility in Nova Scotia is built and ready to roll, awaiting licensing under Canada’s new Cannabis Act. Called the Global Centre for Edible Cannabis Research and Development, the facility is designed to leverage Canada’s leading regulatory environment along with Creso’s extensive research and scientific relationships to develop innovative cannabis edibles for the global market.

Creso sells and develops nutraceutical products, backed by scientific research and data that ensures the products will meet and often exceed any regulatory requirements. It’s a refreshing approach in comparison to the current and largely unregulated CBD market, where all kinds of potential benefits are claimed without any scientific backing.

Creso Pharma has already developed and commercialized a range of innovative products. For example, the company offers CBD-infused nutraceutical products designed to help reduce stress, enhance sleep or improve mental function that are already commercially-available in Switzerland and select EU countries. Its pipeline contains many more of these products targeting both humans and animals.

Creso very recently launched, in a joint venture, the Old Boy Mary Jane line of infused beer. This type of product is a point of emphasis for the company going forward, as more consumer-oriented edible products gain regulatory and market traction across the industry.

Where Creso Is Headed

Creso believes that there is a much bigger opportunity in next-generation cannabis products that reach into other product categories. While Grandview Research projects the global cannabis industry to reach about $64 billion by 2024, it sees the animal supplements market reaching $96 billion and the human supplements market hitting $278 billion over the same time. Creso is active in all of the above, meaning the company’s targeted end markets could exceed $435 billion in just five years.

Creso’s products are organized across five businesses:

• Creso Therapeutics – The company’s cannQIX® 50 is a CBD-based, full-spectrum hemp extract medicinal cannabis buccal lozenge formulation with vitamins, minerals, and capsicum to assist with managing pain. After its launch in New Zealand this year, the company plans to launch in Australia in 2019 before moving on to Europe.
• Creso Nutraceuticals – The company’s cannQIX® family of brands consists of cannabinoid formulations to help reducing stress, improve sleep, and support metal and nervous function in humans. The company has already launched these products in Switzerland and other European markets (UK, Netherlands).
• Creso Animal Health – The company’s anibidiol® range of products is a complementary feed for companion animals with CBD full spectrum hemp oil extract and targeted vitamins. After launching in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in November 2017, the company plans to launch in an additional 15 countries later this year with its global partner Virbac.
• Creso Lifestyle – The company is working on a portfolio of cannabis and hemp-derived alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages containing a unique mix of terpenes. The company plans on launching these products in conjunction with CLV Frontiers in Estonia. The first beers were launched in the third quarter of this year.
• Creso Topicals – The company partnered with Frike Technologies to develop cannaDOL®, a range of organic CBD-based functional topicals. The initial focus is on analgesic needs for sports-related injuries, arthritis, and other issues. The plan is to launch the product early next year.

The company has several distribution partners in place across Switzerland, Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands to help expand revenue over the coming quarters. The partners are generally well established, highly professional firms like Virbac (8^th largest animal health company in the world), PharmaCare, and Doetsch Grether AG. Creso intends to greatly expand its product offerings over the coming quarters, utilizing its partners’ widespread distribution networks to create significant growth in key international markets.

Looking Ahead

There are many details to cover regarding Creso Pharma (ASX: CPH) and its comprehensive product development and sales strategy. With its pharmaceutical approach, the company has already developed a number of innovative commercial products. Its near-term plans to cultivate in Canada, Israel, and Colombia could open the door to strong revenue growth, while a listing on Canada’s TSX Venture stock exchange could draw more investor interest. Look for more developments in this space over the coming months.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.cresopharma.com

Disclaimer

The above article is sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow the link below to view our full disclosure outlining our compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.