A New Zealand medical cannabis company is providing its unique genetics to an Ontario operator so that it can grow and distribute exotic pot from the east coast of Tairawhiti to Canadians.
Māori-founded Rua Bioscience (NZE: RUA) announced Wednesday that it will send those genetics to Apollo Green. The subsidiary of Australia’s Biortica Agrimed runs a cannabis nursery near Ottawa specializing in rare and foreign cultivars.
“This is more than just an agreement; it’s a bridge connecting New Zealand’s exceptional cannabis genetics to the world,” Rua CEO Paul Naske said. Apollo will add Rua’s cultivars to a vast genetic library with over 1,000 varieties of plants.
Apollo’s business development director Oisín Tierney told Stratcann that the company was very excited about the new arrangement.
“Ultimately, at Apollo Green we’re on a mission to offer cultivators curated phenotypes from reputable breeders from all over the world,” Tierney said. “Our ultimate goal is to be a one-stop shop for unique genetics for the commercial market.”
Pete and another Rua worker examining some of the outdoor grown. Photo credit: Rua Bioscience
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Indigenous-founded, socially focused
Rua describes itself as New Zealand’s only medical cannabis company with an explicit focus on social impact: “We’re a unique collective of dual forces: science and nature, land and people, commerce and community, modern innovation and ancestral wisdom.”
The New Zealand operator has supply agreements with Germany’s Nimbus Health and the European medical cannabis operator Motagon. The company aims to enter the Polish, Czech Republic and United Kingdom markets this year.
Rua generated just shy of C$300,000 in customer revenue last year and has assets valued at about C$16.8 million.
The grower recently received New Zealand’s first-ever psilocybin cultivation license. The studies will focus on the Psilocybe Weraroa variety of psilocybin mushrooms native to New Zealand.
Once in-human trials are approved, Rua aims to treat individuals in the country suffering from methamphetamine addiction.
rowan@mugglehead.com
