Aurora Cannabis expands presence in Portugal, takes another step toward cementing European footprint

Angela Stelmakowich - thegrowthop.com Posted 5 years ago
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Aurora Cannabis Inc. has agreed to terms to acquire a 51 percent ownership interest in Portugal licence applicant Gaia Pharm Lda. to establish a local facility to produce medical cannabis and derivative products.

Renamed Aurora Portugal Lda, Gaia Pharm Lda. recently received from the Portuguese Health Ministry approval of the company’s application to construct an EU GMP-compliant cannabis cultivation facility, Aurora notes in a press release.

 

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“Construction of the new facility will be conducted in phases, with the first phase expected to be completed in the third calendar quarter of 2020. Upon completion, the first phase of the facility is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 2,000 kg per annum, growing to 4,000 kg per annum upon completion of the second phase,” reports Edmonton-headquartered Aurora, a cannabis company with funded capacity over 500,000 kg annually and sales and operations in two dozen countries.

 

 

With a population of 10 million-plus, Portugal is part of the Eurozone, features favourable labour costs and “has a producer-friendly regulatory framework that encourages the establishment of domestic production,” it notes.

“This initiative is consistent with Aurora’s strategy to achieve early-mover advantage in countries with nascent medical cannabis markets,” Aurora points out.

“With the addition of this new project, we are now active in 24 countries, which we believe represents the largest global footprint of any cannabis company,” says Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora.

“Aurora’s reputation in the medical cannabis sector, bolstered by the high quality of our products and our commitment to medical and plant research, provides distinct advantages in establishing significant market share in the rapidly growing European market,” Booth adds.

 

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