The Ecofibre Ltd (ASX: EOF) share price is on the rise today following the announcement of an exclusive distribution alliance between Ananda Health and Medisca.
Ecofibre's Ananda Health division is the number one provider of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) for retail pharmacies in the United States. The business produces nutraceutical products, topical creams and ointments.
In existence for over 30 years, Medisca is a company that is focused on compounding pharmaceutical chemical products. The business offers personalised medicine, educational training and support to its partners prescribers, pharmacists, and pharmacist technicians. Medisca has a global footprint across 55 countries including Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. The company supplies compounds to more than 10,000 pharmacies world-wide.
In early trade, shares in the hemp products producer are up 3.88% to $1.88.
What's driving the Ecofibre share price?
In today's announcement, Ecofibre advised that it has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with Medisca to roll out its products.
Under the terms of the deal, Ananda will have access to the Medisca network in the United States. This will enable the company to supply Ananda Professional products to more than 5,000 pharmacies from February 1, 2021.
The contract will be valid for 3 years, with an additional 2-year extended option. A minimum sales target will be set 6 months after the contract start date, which must be met to continue to agreement.
Ananda will have exclusive distribution access to the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, Medisca is able to dispense the products to other parts of its extensive network on a non-exclusive basis.
Management commentary
Ananda Health CEO David Neu welcomed the new partnership, saying:
This partnership is one of the most important milestones in the professionalisation of the CBD industry. This is the first time a multinational distributor will be carrying ingestible hemp-derived CBD products.
Medisca global strategy and innovation SVP, Panagiota Danopoulos, added:
Medisca has been closely monitoring the CBD segment over the past several years and we have seen awareness and demand increase for compounding pharmacists across many geographies. To ensure that we can provide our pharmacists the best-in-class CBD product range we are very pleased to announce our exclusive distribution partnership with Ananda Health.
CBD is an exciting new category that still requires significant research and education to ensure it can help as many patients as possible. In conjunction with Ananda Health, we are very excited to be able to give our pharmacists access to the research, tools and training to improve patient outcomes.
