New Zealand’s First Indigenous-Founded NZX-Listed Company Is Dipping Into Cannabis

New Zealand’s first Māori-founded NZX-listed company, Rua Bioscience, recently received the GMP clear to manufacture medicinal cannabis products.

The company is excited to launch their first product being a cannabinoid CBD oil, where in New Zealand, it’s mostly prescribed for anxiety, pain, and epilepsy. CEO of Rua Bio, Rob Mitchell, stated that this is a significant milestone for the company.

“Gaining certification just 12 months after commissioning our facilities and listing on the NZX is a massive achievement and a testament to the great work being done here in Tairāwhiti by a highly-experienced, talented and tenacious team,” he explained.

“Put simply, GMP certification means we’ve moved a long way down the path to being allowed to manufacture products. The next stage is to submit a New Medicinal Cannabis Product Application to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency who will undertake an assessment against the Minimum Quality Standards.”

The new CBD oil will be manufactured at the purpose-built facility in Gisbourne, and it will only be available in the country for prescription-only medicine. Still, this is a major shift to help New Zealand become familiar with the healing properties of cannabis.

“Achieving GMP certification is the penultimate step towards achieving Rua Bioscience’s vision of delivering medicines to patients. We couldn’t be more excited to be delivering on that vision,” says Mitchell.

The new GMP certification follows various challenges and delays. COO Paul Naske hopes that Rua will continue demonstrating that it’s a trustworthy and trailblazing company once more products are released into the market.

“While the process has been challenging at times, we were always confident in our people, processes and of a positive outcome,” he explained.