Aurora Cannabis lone winner in Italian cannabis tender

For the past 15 months Aurora Cannabis (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB) has been the sole provider of medical cannabis to pharmacies in the country of Italy.

Thursday, Italy announced that after seeking additional proposals Aurora was the only winner of the public tender offering to supply the country.

The contract, expected to be signed in September, will continue the existing relationship and lock in Aurora as the only supplier of medical marijuana in the country for the next two years.

Five companies participated in the bid process, but only the existing supplier was selected.

In a release, the Italian government announced that Aurora’s bid was the only able to meet the requirements of the tender.

As part of the agreement Aurora will supply a minimum of 400 kg of medical cannabis over the life of the contract. The supply agreement mimics the current arrangement in which cannabis will is grown and harvested in Aurora’s Canadian EU GMP certified facilities and imported to Italy through Aurora Deutschland, from there the cannabis is sold to Agenzia Industrie Difesa.

Agenzia Industrie Difesa distributes cannabis to local pharmacies, who dispense directly to patients.

“We’re committed to building a successful, long-term medical cannabis market in Italy,” said Neil Belot, Aurora’s Chief Global Business Development Officer. “We want to continue to build our connection with patients and pharmacies in the Italian market, who have come to know and appreciate our products over most of the past two years. I’m extremely proud of our team. This win reflects our ability to navigate complex international regulations and work with governments around the world to establish ourselves as a trusted partner.”

Axel Gille, Managing Director of Aurora Deutschland GmbH, added, “The well-being of our patients is our top priority and we’re dedicated to ensuring they have access to a consistent supply of safe, high-quality medical cannabis. We look forward to expanding our presence in Italy and continuing to work with other international regulators to ensure patients around the world have access to our high-quality medical cannabis.”