MGC Pharma signs Chinese distribution deal
ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals has taken another stride in commercialising its line of cannabis-based nutraceuticals by signing a distribution deal with major Chinese e-commerce import platform YuShop Global.
Perth-based MGC Pharma said on Tuesday the marketing and distribution deal would see its Cannabidiol, or “CBD”, and hemp-enhanced products sold on YuShop’s online platform and via its network of 1,500 retail channel partners in China, including a luxury spa chain.
The deal means MGC Pharma’s nutraceutical product line, including its CBD Hemp Protein Powder, BCAA CBD capsules, CBD Water Soluble Solution and CBD Herbal V-Pen marketed to millions of Chinese consumers in the rapidly growing health product market.
For MGC Pharma, the deal is a launchpad to access an increasingly health-conscious market, with over 350 million middle-class Chinese vitamin and supplements consumers who are expected to purchase over USD$20b worth of vitamins and supplements in 2020.
An added plus of the agreement, according to MGC Pharma management, is that YuShop will be responsible for all sales, marketing, logistics and customer service within China.
YuShop, meanwhile, has indicated that it considers MGC Pharma’s expanded line of CBD-infused Protein Powders, Multi-Purpose Vitamins, and Nutraceuticals to be in a category of their own in China, with most CBD brands currently limited to oil tinctures and gel capsules.
YuShop connects health, wellness and beauty brands from around the world directly with Mainland China consumers through its shopping platform, providing SMEs with a low cost, quick-to-market, turnkey service that claims to generate revenue inside Mainland China in under 30 days.
An eight-week market test campaign is already underway, with a full-scale marketing and sales campaign scheduled for launch in June 2019, MGC Pharma said.
MGC Pharma co-founder and managing Director, Roby Zomer said: “The expanded sales distribution into China represents a significant step forward in the commercialisation strategy of MGC Pharma’s Nutraceutical range.”
“We are focused on a growth strategy of becoming a leading global provider of phytocannabanoid health products, including our Nutraceutical range, on top of our leading medicinal products.”
The deal marks another step forward in MGC’s journey to commercialising its cannabis-based products after recently selling its cannabis-based cosmetics business, MGC Derma.
Earlier this year it announced permit approval for CannEpil, which targets the treatment of drug-resistant refractory epilepsy, in the United Kingdom as well as the first formal sales orders received for the drug from the UK and Australia.
In other developments, the company’s research partner, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, or “RMIT”, recently received new approvals from the Australian Office of Drug Control to advance research into the fields of cancer treatment using CBD therapy.
MGC has also started gearing up for the Phase IIB clinical trial of its CogniCann medical cannabis dementia and Alzheimer’s disease product at Notre Dame University in WA.
Additionally, MGC soon expects to start construction of its Malta production facility, which is being built for the cultivation and manufacture of medical cannabis.
NB : This article is for general financial markets news purposes only and is not to be taken as an endorsement of, or advertisement for any individual product, medicine or drug.