With flexible legislation for medicinal Cannabis, Peru attracts international business

Valéria França

Peru is becoming a strong hub for medicinal Cannabis business. Since February 2019, when it approved new regulations that are more flexible than those in Brazil, the country has been attracting the interest of international companies. Just this month of July, three licenses for international companies were approved.

The Canadian company Khiron announced operations in the country last Thursday (23). The company has authorization to import full spectrum CBD (cannabidiol) oil, which it produces in Colombia. For commercialization, Khiron partnered with Universal pharmacy, with points of sale in the major cities of the country.

Another highlight of July was the Uruguayan Ramm Pharma Corp. The company obtained the registration of Epifactram – pure cannabidiol for the treatment of epilepsy. The medication will be distributed by the regional partner CannFarm.

The Canadian Canopy Growth also emerged with news. The global company obtained the health registration of Yellow Oil (20 mg/ml). In Portuguese, yellow oil, a color that represents CBD in Canopy's color palette for each cannabinoid.

This is the first product from the Canadian company in the Peruvian market – although it is not yet on sale. The company is awaiting two more registrations, that of Spectrum Blue (with balanced amounts of CBD and THC) and that of Spectrum Red (predominantly THC).

Other movements

Many companies are also preparing to meet the requirements of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) in Brazil, but in parallel are betting on Peruvian registration. They may achieve it faster there than here.

This is the case of VerdeMed, a Canadian company focused on the Latin American market. According to the director for the area, Fábio Lampugnani, the company has submitted a registration request for two products, a mouth spray, CBD and THC in the same proportions, for multiple sclerosis. The other is an isolated CBD oil (100mg/ml) for the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsy.

“We submitted the request for a natural product for health use. It is not a category of drug,” says Lampugnani. In Brazil, all Cannabis products must qualify as drugs and follow the rules required for any type of medication.

According to Peruvian legislation, companies can submit requests in two categories, that of drugs and natural products for health use, which have different rules. “In the case of a natural product, a simplified dossier is presented compared to that of a drug,” explains Lampugnani. Therefore, registration is usually faster than that of a medication.

“Peruvian legislation has several advantages, which combined are stimulating business,” says Andre Vazquez Vargas, CEO of CannFarm. “Another advantage is that sales are handled by regular and compounding pharmacies. There is no need to have dispensaries, as in the U.S.” The regulation does not limit the amount of THC and CBD. Doctors have no restrictions regarding specialties to prescribe.

Government support

The Peruvian government supports and encourages medicinal Cannabis. In January, the American Anden Naturals won the bidding opened by the Peruvian government for the purchase of 10 liters of medicinal CBD oil.

It beat two other strong competitors in the international market, Pharmacielo and Aurora. For three months, the product was sold at the government pharmacy. But the stock has already run out, according to local sources. The country issued 17 import licenses. Three pharmacies have authorization for commercialization, although none have products for sale yet.