MIAMI & TORONTO– Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) (“Flora” or the “Company”), a leading all-outdoor cultivator and manufacturer of global cannabis products and brands, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to begin scientific clinical trials globally. The focus of this study will be on the use of cannabinoids in patients suffering from Fibromyalgia or chronic pain, with the primary research sites located in the United States and the United Kingdom. Flora Pharma expects to fast track traditional FDA and NHS timelines by running phase trials in parallel (in vitro, in vivo, pilot in human, safety/efficacy, etc.). The Human Pilot Study will initiate in the UK in coordination with an internationally recognized clinical research group based at the University of Manchester, while parallel molecular and pharmacokinetic studies will be conducted in the US with key scientists and colleagues of Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan, Flora’s Lead Scientific Advisor. The immediate next steps are to submit data for ethics committee review and approval whereupon acceptance, further details will be provided.
“A paradigm shift is upon us where healthcare practitioners, researchers, patients, and adult-use consumers are starting to understand, accept, and embrace the therapeutic potential offered by phytocannabinoid-based medicine. As such, there is an urgent need for more research to better understand the molecular and biochemical effects of cannabis at the cellular level, to begin to apply its implications as a pharmaceutical drug,” said Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan, Director and Lead Scientific Advisor of Flora Growth. “I’m extremely pleased that our team recognizes the importance and necessity of this research, not only to create and bring to market novel pharmaceutical cannabis products for patients around the world that are more efficacious and have a superior safety profile compared to traditional and incumbent pharmaceutical treatment options, but to also enhance long-term shareholder value. While this may seem like an ambitious and costly endeavor, we will be able to leverage our seed-to-sale platform to supply products for research and commercialization at incredibly favorable and competitive price points, while partnering with established organizations and institutions where additional funding subsidies are available.”
“Our team is incredibly excited to announce our entry into cannabinoid science which will help us achieve our goal of developing pharmaceutical cannabis products while working to advance global cannabinoid research and become a thought leader in the space,” said Luis Merchan, President and CEO of Flora Growth. “Since our inception, the Flora team has successfully navigated significant barriers to enable the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of cannabis products in Colombia. Commercial harvests are well underway and it is now that we’re able to turn our attention to what we believe is the long-term future of our industry and to hedge ourselves further against the commoditization of raw cannabis materials – working to develop a pipeline of regulatory approved, prescription cannabinoid-based medicines, with a focus on clinical indications where we’ve identified a significant unmet medical need. We believe that this initiative will strengthen and broaden our industry-leading cultivation and manufacturing platform by allowing us to create novel downstream pharmaceutical and nutraceutical cannabis products, further diversify our revenue streams, and drive sustainable, long-term value creation opportunities, underpinned by high-margins and covered costs.”
While Flora is focused on its cannabis cultivation and processing operations in Colombia, as well as utilizing those raw materials throughout its premium and mindful global cannabis consumer packaged goods brand and product portfolio, the management team and board of directors has acknowledged and is committed to moving ahead with applied research initiatives in medical cannabis, forming Flora Pharma, in order to become a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of novel, phytocannabinoid-based prescription medicines and nutraceutical products to address a broad range of diseases.
