As a global leader in the legalized medical and adult-use cannabis markets and a market leader in medical cannabis across Europe, with a leading market share in Germany, Tilray is bullish on the positive paradigm shift that the new German drug policy creates for the future of cannabis in Europe.
Irwin D. Simon, Tilray Brands’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We see tremendous growth opportunities stemming from Germany’s landmark cannabis policy update. The new German medical market opportunity equates to about $3bn while the European opportunity, could represent a powerful growth market consisting of a potential $45bn medical market alone. Our presence in Europe allows Tilray to grow our brands globally from a base of over 700 million people in Europe, which is twice the population of the U.S.”
The public perception regarding the new cannabis reforms in Germany is mainly centered around cultivation for personal use and the establishment of cannabis social clubs. However, what is of greater importance for Tilray are the new opportunities, which flow from the new German Medical Cannabis Act. One fundamental change is the removal of cannabis from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotics Act. This de-scheduling change is expected to significantly expand the medicinal cannabis market in Germany as it would allow for more doctors to prescribe medical cannabis more easily to patients and not only as a medication of last resort, which will allow for greater accessibility to patients and potentially allow for broader health insurance coverage.
Further, the German Medical Cannabis Act provides for the abolishment of the tender process for in-country cultivation of medicinal cannabis and replaces it with a licensing scheme. Today, only a small portion of the medical cannabis serving German patients is produced in Germany and what may be cultivated is set forth in the tender. As the operator of one of only three in-country cultivation facilities located in Germany today, these legislative changes would allow Tilray to better meet patient needs by expanding its medical cannabis product offerings, which in turn would significantly increase Tilray’s cannabis production in Germany by approximately 5x and more than double its revenue opportunity. Tilray also owns and operates Tilray Pharma, an established medical distribution platform in Germany that distributes traditional branded and generic pharmaceutical medicines and medical cannabis across 13,000 pharmacies as well as wholesalers and distributors.
We also believe that these landmark reforms in Germany could have an impact on cannabis drug policy across Europe as other countries may adopt Germany’s approach. We believe this could lead to significant growth for Tilray in Europe where we already have a very meaningful presence, and where Tilray continues to seek to strengthen its leadership position and grow market share in over 20 countries including Portugal, Poland, Italy, the UK, and the Czech Republic
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