Portfolio Company, Astral Health and Miller & Miller form
a New Joint Venture to Open Up the UK Market
Pharma Industry Veteran Robert Whitehouse Appointed Managing
Director of Astral Health
LONDON, May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The first platform
to facilitate the licenced importation of medical cannabis into
Europe has formally launched in
the UK. Astral Health will act as a gateway to the European
cannabis market, providing a simple and efficient system for the
licenced import and distribution of approved medical cannabis
products. German, Italian, French and Spanish market announcements
will follow over the coming weeks.
The company will provide European patients living with a range
of chronic and debilitating conditions with life-changing access to
the best medical cannabis products available by offering a
streamlined end-to-end system for bringing products into the
market. Its services include support on market access, approvals
and navigating the regulatory system, as well as education,
training and intelligence.
The launch of the end-to-end platform follows the formation of a
new UK joint venture between ECH and Miller & Miller Chemicals
Ltd. The agreement formalises their existing working relationship
as experts in this field and is demonstrative of their shared
commitment to providing better access for patients.
ECH recently opened The Medical Cannabis Clinics, Britain's first chain of specialist medical
cannabis clinics and achieved a historic milestone by facilitating
the importation of the UK's first bulk shipment of cannabis-based
medicine since the Home Office decision to legalise it for
prescription last November. Despite legalisation, only a handful of
prescriptions for medical cannabis have been written to date - with
the vast majority originating through The Medical Cannabis
Clinics.
Miller & Miller are the market experts in medical cannabis
access, with a patient-centric approach based on ethical
principles. Working in close contact with ECH's Chief Medical
Officer, Professor Mike Barnes, they
fulfilled the first medical cannabis prescription in the UK for
patient Carly Barton in December and
the landmark prescription for seven year-old epilepsy
sufferer Alfie Dingley, which was
written by Prof Barnes.
This close partnership between the two companies means that
Astral, which will provide a full suite of services to those in the
medical cannabis sector, benefits from significant expertise around
logistics and distribution, while building on Miller & Miller
and ECH's market-leading knowledge of the medical cannabis market
and the regulatory approvals process in key markets.
Former Almirall and GW Pharma distributor Robert Whitehouse has a wealth of experience
bringing cutting edge medicines into new European jurisdictions,
including market access experience, intricate knowledge of the
regulatory environment and extensive market development expertise.
His broad experience includes working on the Europe-wide commercialisation of various
pharmaceuticals products (including the pharmaceutical cannabinoid
drug Sativex by GW Pharma) and making multiple submissions to NICE
and other European regulatory bodies. He led negotiations over
pricing with the UK's Department of Health and with the CPU and
NCPE in Ireland over Skilarence
and Sativex ahead of their introduction to the public health
systems.
Additional high level advisory-level support will also come from
ECH's wider team, including Professor Mike
Barnes, one of the world's foremost expert in medical
cannabis, who is leading on regulatory developments in a number of
jurisdictions; and from Hannah
Deacon, the UK's highest-profile Patient Advocate, whose
campaign on behalf of her young son Alfie
Dingley, changed the law in the UK.
ECH, the group of companies at the forefront of the medical
cannabis industry, already has a wide network in place ready to
utilise this platform and support its growth. This includes working
with a number of licensed producers of EU GMP certified pharma
grade cannabis products ready to import across Europe. The launch of Astral Health will
further facilitate market access and transform Europe's growing medical cannabis
infrastructure.
Dean Friday, ECH CFO &
Director, said: "The launch of Astral Health is a
pioneering step forward that will support increased market access
to medical cannabis across Europe.
The legalisation of prescription cannabis in the UK has given
people with chronic illnesses hope; the next step is to ensure the
availability of this medication to those who need it. By
facilitating the licensed import of approved medical cannabis
products on an ongoing contractual basis through Astral Health,
that's what we are working to achieve."
John Miller of Miller &
Miller, said: "I am delighted to formalise our
relationship with ECH to launch this important new platform, which
will help patients access the best medical cannabis products
on the market by streamlining the process for bringing them into
different countries. Astral Health is a key step to transforming
the medical cannabis landscape around Europe."
Access to medical cannabis products will have benefits for
patients across Europe suffering a
variety of chronic and life-altering conditions. As an independent
platform with a growing network of relationships with global
cannabis producers, Astral Health will provide a unique channel to
boost access to affordable healthcare across Europe. The establishment of the new venture
comes as the regulatory outlook in Europe and beyond continues to shift. Last
month saw the European Parliament vote in favour of a non-binding
resolution seeking to encourage European Union countries to
increase access to medical cannabis, and the World Health
Organisation has also called for cannabis to be removed from
Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
ABOUT ECH
ECH is an unrivalled group of companies at the forefront of the
medical cannabis industry. It provides venture capital, exceptional
talent and operational excellence to a portfolio that includes
market intelligence firm Prohibition Partners, Europe's leading medical cannabis conference
Cannabis Europa, CBD brand Nooro, online learning platform The
Academy of Medical Cannabis and UK private clinic chain The Medical
Cannabis Clinics. These holdings provide ECH with a fundamental
anchor in the cannabis industry while helping to shape its
future.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/813128/ECH_Logo.jpg