Rua Bioscience Ltd (NZE: RUA) shipped four cannabis varieties as live clones to Apollo Green last month. The export completes an agreement the companies reached in 2024 and represents the first legal shipment of live cannabis genetics from New Zealand into Canada.
Apollo Green will introduce the varieties into the regulated Canadian adult-use market, with initial commercial availability expected in the coming months.
Rua Bioscience holds a cultivation license in New Zealand that it secured in 2016. The company operates as a Māori community-owned entity and launched its first prescription medicine in 2022. It focuses on developing differentiated cannabis genetics and navigating international regulatory requirements to supply global markets.
Apollo Green runs a cannabis nursery located about 20 minutes east of Ottawa. The company specializes in phenohunting, selective breeding and the supply of clones to licensed cultivators. The grower has positioned the imported genetics for propagation and distribution to licensed producers.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Biortica Agrimed, Apollo Green also offers genetics licensing, tissue culture services, DNA fingerprinting for plant breeder rights protection and research partnerships. It maintains collaborations with breeders such as Humboldt Seed Company and provides cultivars to medical and adult-use operators in Ontario and Quebec. Its parent operator Biortica Agrimed is currently preparing to complete an initial public offering.
The successful shipment advances Rua Bioscience’s strategy to connect its New Zealand-bred genetics with established international markets. Canada has the second-largest legal cannabis sector in the world behind the United States.
In its financial statements for the year ended Jun. 30, 2025, Rua Bioscience reported revenue from contracts with customers equivalent to roughly US$892,000, a sharp increase from US$50,660 in the prior year. Total revenue and other income rose to US$1,120,789 from US$189,854.
The company reduced its net loss after tax to US$2,033,629 from US$8,096,808, reflecting higher sales across New Zealand, Australia and Germany as well as tighter cost controls. Cash and cash equivalents fell to US$142,486 at Jun. 30, 2025 from US$528,306 a year earlier.
Read more: Māori group receives first psilocybin cultivation license in NZ to treat substance use disorders
Follow Rowan Dunne on LinkedIn
rowan@mugglehead.com
