Australia-based cannabis and psychedelics company Creso Pharma Ltd. (OTC:COPHF) inked a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Swiss pharmacy Apotheke Dr. Hysek AG toward an exclusive partnership for the import and distribution of licensed MDMA and psilocybin products into Australia, of which detailed commercial aspects are expected by this August 31.
The Biel-based pharmacy is a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant facility manufacturing MDMA, synthetic psilocybin and LSD under Pharma GMP conditions and is authorized by the Swiss medicine agency (Swissmedic) and the country's Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH.)
Founder Dr. Cedric Hysek works closely with Dr. Matthias Liechti, a University Hospital Basel (UHB) professor involved with the Swiss limited-use psychedelics program and leading several MindMed (NASDAQ:MNMD)-backed studies.
Following Australia's new legal framework for psychedelic-assisted therapies effective in July, Creso Pharma will provide import infrastructure, warehouse and product distribution through its wholly-owned subsidiary Health House International (HHI.)
HHI holds wholesale and manufacturer licenses aligned with TGA guidelines and will apply for an import permit through the country's Office of Drug Control for this specific import and involving clinical purposes only.
The Creso-HHI team says they are discussing with several Australian stakeholders including GPs, pharmacists and practicing psychiatrists to form alliances with health professionals willing to enter the sector.
Creso Pharma CEO and managing director William Lay says the new LOI "sets out the terms and parameters" for the licensed import and distribution to Australia of approved MDMA and psilocybin products "manufactured by one of the world's foremost practitioners in this space."
Lay said Dr. Hysek is "undoubtedly a pioneer" in applying MDMA and psilocybin treatments for better patient outcomes, collaborating with Swiss regulators and university researchers. Hysek said he hopes the new deal will result in benefitting from the Swiss knowledge and experience toward making the Australian healthcare industry work for the patients' benefit.
See also: Building Australia's Psychedelics Industry: A New Joint Venture And Why It's Important
That intention is echoed by Dr. Liechti, who says the knowledge from the 2015-and-running Swiss collaborative approach between federal regulators, researchers and medical professionals for "improved patient outcomes" has the potential to be shared "with both the TGA and key stakeholders in the Australian healthcare industry" toward developing "similarly effective programs" in the country's market.
"As a research partner of the Swiss limited-use program since inception, I have a direct interest in assisting in the efficient and regulated rollout of these medical applications to other jurisdictions and would embrace the opportunity to work closely with the Australian medical industry towards that goal," Liechti concluded.
Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by RF_studio on Pexels and anaterate on Pixabay.