Aphria and TBP will be bought out together Carl Merton recently commented on the link between TBP and APH.
"We maintain a strong relationship with TBP. In addition, to being a member of their board of directors, including Chair of the Audit Committee, and Aphria being a large shareholder, we maintain a supply contract with TBP for two products which they are performing clinical trials on – PPP001, a compressed dried flower product that is smoked, and PPP005 – an oil based product that is delivered with a syringe in the mouth.
Tetra has many interesting trials going on currently, including a recent announcement of a head-to-head study on pain management for PPP001 against Fentanyl. In addition to the Fentanyl study, PPP001 is currently in Phase 3, with the end goal being a DIN. We see enormous opportunity for our relationship with Tetra, both as a supplier and as a shareholder.
The interesting part about clinical drug trials is that once you start a trial with an active ingredient, you can’t change it without a 5-year bridging study. The bridging study is done to prove that the new active ingredient is composed of the exact same molecules and has the exact same affects as the original active ingredient. 5 years is a long time to slow your clinical study. I think it is also important to appreciate that the active ingredient we created for TBP is composed of a proprietary blend of 3 different varieties, making it even more difficult to duplicate."
This statement shows that neither company will be able to operate without the other, in order to penetrate the pharmaceutical marijuana market. They rely on each other for either the supply of the ingredient, or the pharmaceutical clinical trials; both are required, but both are owned by separate companies. A supply agreement is what makes this relationship work (beyond an investment from APH into TBP).
Therefore, if any large pharmaceutical company wants to buy TBP, they must buy APH too, to get the whole product.