American Company Creates Leadership in Medicinal Cannabis

Ilera Therapeutics is a private medical marijuana and cannabinoid science company based in the United States and, subject to approval by the shareholders of Zelda and all sale conditions met, Zelda proposes to acquire 100% of Ilera Therapeutics through a transaction with all scripts.

Ilera Therapeutics is a medical cannabis and cannabinoid science company focused therapeutically recently created by Ilera Healthcare LLC with which Zelda had entered into a strategic partnership in March 2019 (refer to the ASX announcement of March 12, 2019). Its operations are centered in the United States in Pennsylvania and Louisiana, while its clinical networks and distribution channels span North America.

Partnership

The merger between Zelda and Ilera Therapeutics will create a global medical cannabis company, to be renamed Zelira Therapeutics Limited ("Zelira"). The merger brings together a portfolio of revenue-generating drug and product development in clinical development that are expected to enter the market from 2020.

Zelira's 'launch, learn, and develop' model will be deployed to quickly commercialize products targeted at large addressable markets such as pain, sleep, and anxiety.

With operations in Australia and the US, Zelira will have a strong platform to access global medical cannabis markets. Ilera Therapeutics provides direct access to the US, the largest global medical cannabis market, with over four million registered patients, while the company provides complementary access to fast-growing markets including Australia, Germany, and the UK.

The merger brings together long-term supply and distribution relationships with pharmaceutical product manufacturers in Europe (HAPA pharm BV through Zelda) and the US (Ilera Healthcare and Ilera Holistic through Ilera Therapeutics), ensuring access to large-scale pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis to serve large and growing patient populations.

World-Class Design and Experience

Zelira Therapeutics will also bring together world-class expertise in clinical trial design, drug development, cannabinoid scientific research, and consumer marketing, along with a strategy to market and disrupt existing pharmaceutical and medical cannabis markets.

The resulting company from the merger also gains a highly experienced US-based management team with a successful track record in the cannabis sector. 

It is proposed that three members of the Ilera Therapeutics team will join the Zelira Therapeutics Board, including Osagie Imasogie as Chairman and Lisa Gray as Director. Osagie and Lisa bring over 30 years of experience in law, corporate finance, intellectual property, global healthcare, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Opportunity

Zelda's Chairman, Harry Karelis, commented that "this is a transformative opportunity for both companies," as the merger will create one of the world's leading medical cannabis companies "with a rich pipeline of clinically validated products in development and exclusive access to the world's largest and fastest-growing cannabis markets."

Ilera Therapeutics President, Osagie Imasogie, stated: “Ilera Therapeutics and Zelda are an excellent and natural fit given our respective clinical development strategies and operational expertise."

“Our ability as a combined company to immediately capture growth opportunities in the rapidly expanding global medical cannabis market will be significantly enhanced."

Source: Health Europa