Apollon Formularies Plc Apollon grants an Exclusive Licence Agreement to PureCann, South Africa

 
TIDMAPOL 
 
24 July 2023 
 
Apollon Formularies Plc 
 
Apollon grants an Exclusive Licence Agreement to PureCann, South Africa 
 
Apollon Formularies plc (AQSE: APOL, "Apollon" or the "Company"), a UK based 
international pharmaceutical company trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange, is 
pleased to announce that it has signed an Exclusive License Agreement 
with PureCann Pty Ltd. ("PureCann"), a South African based medical cannabis 
company, which will produce, and actively distribute the entire Apollon product 
range throughout their dispensary network currently being rolled out in South 
Africa. The license includes the rights to distribute Apollon proprietary 
medicinal products to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and 
throughout the African continent where medical cannabis is legally available 
once the relevant export licenses have been secured by PureCann for these 
regions. 
 
Transaction Highlights: 
 
  · Apollon will receive a once off licensing fee of £100'000 as well as an 
ongoing royalty of 6% of gross profit on sales by PureCann for the entire term 
of the licence. 
  · Apollon grants PureCann an Exclusive Licence which gives PureCann the 
 rights to Apollon's Patent applications, Proprietary Formulations, Patient 
Protocols and access to the technology relating to formulations which showed 
successful cancer cell killing in the BIOENSIS pre-clinical studies. 
  · Apollon will benefit from brand exposure and sales royalties in PureCann's 
licensed medical cannabis dispensaries as well as PureCann's treatment 
facilities planning on being rolled out in Q4 of 2023. 
  · Further Sub-Licence revenue will be applicable at a commercially favourable 
split between Apollon and PureCann where PureCann are able to enter into sub 
license agreements with the other nine African countries where medicinal 
cannabis is legally available to patients in those jurisdictions under a Sales 
and Distribution agreement along with further jurisdictions which may legalise 
in the term of this licence agreement. 
  · Apollon will also benefit from crucial clinical data and royalties generated 
from PureCann's Treatment centre in Cape Town, South Africa in the near future. 
 
 
Background 
 
Since September 2022 Apollon has been in confidential discussions with the 
Directors of PureCann with the view to entering into a mutually beneficial 
commercial relationship via an Exclusive License Agreement. PureCann is in the 
process of rolling out 28 medical cannabis dispensaries nationally and has 
already gained good traction by adding over 200 eligible medical cannabis 
patients in their first month of trading. 
 
Apollon will benefit greatly from PureCann's current network where they have 
contractual agreements with multiple GACP/GMP cultivators where together we 
would have access to high-quality low-cost biomass reducing input costs 
dramatically across the production chain. PureCann also has access to two GMP 
extraction facilities meaning they can fully produce a complete range of 
certified cannabis based medicinal products'(CBMP's) for use locally within 
South Africa but also for export markets in Africa and back to Europe where 
together we would have a competitive advantage on cost across the board from 
plant to patient. 
 
PureCann will benefit from Apollon's vast experience in extraction and 
processing techniques, pharmaceutical level drug development, clinical trial 
knowledge, patient treatment protocols by experienced physicians with medical 
cannabis treatment experience, the exclusive rights to Apollon's proprietary 
formulations along with all relevant patents filed under PCT and recently 
entered national phase admissions and lodged at the South African patent office. 
 
Both companies will benefit substantially from the agreement by providing 
ongoing international exposure in multiple international jurisdictions to 
markets requiring quality products with proven pre-clinical data. Having a South 
African base of operations would improve local access to affordable healthcare 
whilst at the same time serving to uplift economic development and job creation. 
It would also bolster the local pharmaceutical production capabilities in this 
burgeoning economic sector initially within South Africa, but will be expanded 
to include the Southern African Development Community ("SADC") with a view to 
expanding licensing regimes and CBMP's to the entire African continent currently 
comprising of more than 1.4 billion people when they legalize and regularise 
each country in the near to mid term. 
 
We are due to get an update from Global Hemp Group in the coming days on our 
pending transaction, but we need to carry on with our usual course of business. 
 Apollon is very pleased to have been able to conclude this Exclusive License 
with PureCann. As soon as possible we will inform the market on the status of 
our deal with Global Hemp Group in a forthcoming press release to the  market. 
 
 
Dr Stephen D Barnhill, CEO and Chairman of Apollon Formularies, commented, 
 
"My team and I are extremely pleased to have signed an Exclusive Licence 
Agreement with PureCann. They have already reached impressive commercial 
milestones. As such, we are now able to immediately expand the "Apollon" Brand 
along with our full medical product portfolio into South Africa." 
 
"We are looking forward to having a full complement of our formulations for 
multiple medical conditions in their network of dispensaries as well as in their 
proposed treatment facilities. We are also excited that they have already been 
engaging with other African countries to get effective and safe cannabis based 
medicinal products to patients in those jurisdictions where legal." 
 
Dr Shan Holmes, Chief Biomedical Scientist of PureCann , stated, 
 
"We are delighted to be working with Apollon Formularies and specifically Dr 
Stephen D Barnhill as we grow our business from our base in South Africa. We 
will continue to build on Apollon's medical milestones while we bring affordable 
and effective medicine to a wider population base. As a scientist with 
substantial experience in plant-based medicine, I am excited to be working 
shoulder to shoulder with Dr Barnhill and his team in this highly specialist 
sector." 
 
"I believe the cannabis sector is starting to experience a `second wave' of 
interest, both from a medical and commercial perspective and South Africa is 
well placed to position itself to be at the centre of this new dawn." 
 
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this 
announcement. 
 
For additional information, please visit www.apollon.org.uk or contact: 
 
Apollon Formularies 
 
Tel:                                                      +44 771 198 0221 
Stene Jacobs                                      stene@apollon.org.uk 
 
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Corporate Adviser) 
 
Tel:                                                       +44 207 220 9795 
Guy Miller                                           gm@peterhousecapital.com 
 
BlytheRay (Financial PR/IR-London) 
 
Tel:                                                       +44 207 138 3204 
Tim Blythe/Megan Ray                    apollon@blytheray.com 
 
About Apollon Formularies and Apollon Formularies Jamaica 
 
Apollon Formularies plc is an international medical cannabis company 
headquartered in the United Kingdom. Apollon Formularies Jamaica Limited is a 
pharmaceutical company incorporated and operating in the Commonwealth of 
Jamaica. Apollon Jamaica is licensed by the Jamaican government's Cannabis 
Licensing Authority (CLA) to cultivate, perform research and development, 
process, and sell medical cannabis therapeutic products that include legal 
medical cannabis to treat various illnesses under medical supervision. Apollon 
and Apollon Jamaica are parties to a Commitment Agreement whereby Apollon is 
entitled to 95% of Apollon Jamaica's Net Profits, and per a Stock Pledge 
Agreement that includes Stephen D. Barnhill, M.D., Apollon is to be assigned the 
entire 49% equity interest of Apollon Jamaica held by Dr. Barnhill, which is the 
maximum interest in a medical cannabis company allowed to be held by a non 
-Jamaican, upon the CLA approving the assignment. 
 
 About PureCann 
 
PureCann Pty Ltd is a South African medical cannabis business established in the 
Western Cape province of South Africa. PureCann has a seasoned professional team 
who have been at the forefront of the cannabis sector since 2015 with 
substantial experience in Lesotho and South Africa once medical cannabis was 
legalised in 2018. PureCann is in the process of rolling out a substantial 
national medical cannabis dispensary network under the brand -"Beleaf" where 
onsite licensed physicians will prescribe various Cannabis Based Medicinal 
Products (CBMP's) under prescription to eligible patients licensed under the 
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority ("SAHPRA"), in terms of S21 
and S22C of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act. PureCann comes 
with a deep scientific and medical pedigree in both conventional and cannabinoid 
medicine and also have multiple contractual agreements currently giving them 
access to 33 GACP/GMP cultivators within South Africa. 
 
 
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com 
 
 
END
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 24, 2023 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)
Apollon Formularies (AQSE:APOL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024