The appointment comes in a time when SiGMA is growing not only in terms of shows they organise in Malta on a yearly basis, but also expanding overseas, looking to build new opportunities and bring the business to a global scale.

Rick Goddard joined the company at the beginning of April, tasked with reviewing procedures and setting new targets for each of the event verticals in 2019. His has commercial experience from a variety of sectors, most recently focussed on blockchain, cryptocurrencies and the ICO market, according to the press announcement.

“I am delighted to take on the role of CCO and support Eman and the group as global success appears on the horizon,” Mr Goddard said. “The company has grown quickly and I look forward to being central to the next stages of its global evolution,” he added.

“We are delighted to appoint Rick to the position of Chief Commercial Officer, adding to our C-level talent as we take the SiGMA Group to new heights around the world,” Mr Pulis said. “With SiGMA Manila 2020 set to be as big as our SiGMA show in Malta, and with the Emirates Blockchain Summit just around the corner, Rick will be crucial to the continued success of the group in meeting commercial objectives over coming years,” the founder CEO added.

SiGMA stands before a busy year, with the spring edition of the Malta A.I. & Blockchain Summit right at the corner. In addition to another blockchain venue scheduled for November, the iGaming SiGMA event and the first Medical Cannabiz World in Malta, the company is expanding into the Middle East and eyes Asia for further events.

The post SiGMA welcomes new commercial chief first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“We have been very selective in our evaluation of companies, who need to show rigorous processes and strict regulations. Our goal is to be at the forefront of the research and production of medical cannabis, and we believe businesses like Avana will help us achieve this in Malta,” says Mario Galea, Chief Executive of Malta Enterprise.

Avana expects to use this facility as a medical cannabis processing hub, where it will import cannabis flower into Malta and process the flower into medical products for distribution to other European markets.

“The European market is one of the largest opportunities in the nascent global medical cannabis industry. Our familiarity in establishing and working within GMP compliant production facilities will lead to an efficient facility roll-out in Malta,” says Zubin Jasavala, Chief Executive Officer of Avana. “Our experience operating CannaWay Clinics and our formulation partnership with Covar Pharmaceuticals is guiding product development which we are excited to bring to Malta and the broader European market in 2020.”

In the upcoming months, Avana will work to commence construction of the facility in Malta. Avana will be participating in the Medical Cannabis World Forum held in Malta in November 2019, where Jasavala will be speaking to Avana’s experience in the Canadian medical markets in both production and distribution to-date, according to the press statement.

Avana is a family of cannabis brands and businesses positioned for growth domestically and in global medical markets. Avana derives market insights through its subsidiary CannaWay Clinic.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Since this story was published, Avana has rebranded as Mera, and quite recently has maintained an elevated focus on its expansion into Malta.

The post Avana and Malta Enterprise sign LoI for medical cannabis licence first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

CTN will now seek to raise funds to scale the business globally by investing in production technology, marketing and distribution. This will allow the company to further provide consumers with global access to affordable, environmentally-friendly and advanced cryotherapy, according to the press statement.

“Having successfully created our own technology and made ourselves a forerunner in this rapidly expanding space, Cryotech Nordic now wants to offer investors access to our growing business”, says Dr Timo Kylmälä, Cryotech Nordic Medical Director.

“By carrying out an equity raise on TokenMarket’s platform, we want to give all types of investors an opportunity to invest in an industry that hasn’t been accessible until now,” adds Jean-Patrick Martins, Member of the board and CMO.

TokenMarket says that by having been accepted to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Regulatory Sandbox in July 2018, CTN’s equity raise will be carried out in a compliant manner, executed in the blockchain.

“Cryotherapy is very exciting and currently growing at a rapid rate amongst athletes, professional training centres, and the healthcare institutions. However, this type of healthcare investment and treatment is currently unavailable for the average person to fund and purchase in the retail market,” says Ransu Salovaara, CEO of TokenMarket.

“Working alongside Cryotech Nordic, we are ensuring that advocates of cryotherapy and interested investors are able to come in at an early stage; democratising an investment opportunity they otherwise would not have had through a traditional route to market,” Mr Salovaara adds.

CTN says it wants to make cryotherapy chambers and localised cryotherapy accessible to everyone. Its technology aims to ditch using “difficultly sourced nitrogen gasses and expensive liquid nitrogen chambers” by providing a “cost-efficient electricity powered solution to make its product accessible to the retail market.”

The cryotherapy phenomenon has influenced a current $2.5bn market which is set to reach a global market value of $5.6bn by 2024, CTN expects.

CTN’s so-called “Cryo Cabin” circulates “super-cooled” vaporised gas, which the company claims heals and treats ailments such as tissue damage, inflammation, pain and variety of skin disorders.

“This particular treatment has received praise amongst athletes such as LeBron James, Conor McGregor, Max Verstappen, Novak Djokovic and many more. In addition to top athletes CTN Cryo Cabins are used by NHL and NFL teams in the United States,” the press statement concludes.

Cryotech Nordic is a high tech manufacturer that focuses on cryotherapy systems and solutions. CTN focuses on non-surgical health and wellness solutions for both professionals and private users

TokenMarket is a Europe-based token offering and a global investment platform allowing users to research, invest and trade in innovative startups and growth companies. With offices in London, Gibraltar, Helsinki, Malta and Singapore, TokenMarket has assisted over 30 blockchain companies in raising over £240m since 2017, issuing digital assets to over 250,000 unique investors.

The post TokenMarket to put Cryotech’s shares in the blockchain first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

GCAN is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialisation of innovative delivery systems for the cannabis market. iCAN is an Israeli developer of cannabis-based formulations, clinical trials and cannabis testing.

The eluting patch platform is an “innovative delivery system, which uses a patented mucoadhesive and multilayered orally dissolving thin film to deliver a precise dose of cannabinoids into the body through the buccal mucosa,” the press release says. Clinical studies, funded in part by the US-based National Institutes of Health (NIH), have shown the delivery system’s capability in achieving higher bioavailability in the body using lower and controlled, dosing when compared to other routes of administration, according to the press release.

The agreement with iCAN will include commercial-ready formulations to meet medical and recreational market demands. Distribution and marketing rights for iCAN will consist of Malta, along with another list of countries — Israel, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands, South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Macedonia, and Portuguese territories.

Focusing globally on the cannabis ecosystem, iCAN operates a global platform for distribution of such products through its iCAN Serve unit and works with a portfolio of like-minded companies, including but not limited to CannRx, CMTREX, CannaTech and endoCRO.

“I am very excited about the prospect of offering GCAN’s products through our many distribution channels,” says Saul Kaye, CEO of iCAN. “I have seen many groundbreaking innovations come through our CannaTech conferences, and the eluting patch technology was a platform I was particularly impressed with. I believe this technology can redefine how consumers think about cannabis. From the lower-dosage form to the controlled and slow-release mechanisms, and the ability to use it anywhere, I believe the product will resonate really well with consumers and generate rapid traction in the markets we intend to bring it to,” he adds.

“I am pleased to announce our partnership with iCAN,” says Aitan Zacharin, CEO of GCAN. “Saul [Kaye, iCAN CEO] is an industry leader who is at the forefront of everything tech in cannabis. His desire to partner with us is a testament to the strength of our technology and its capabilities. We are excited to establish this important partnership in the medical and adult-use cannabis industry. We are focused on transactions that will accelerate the commercialisation of our products, and the iCAN deal does that globally. iCAN shares our enthusiasm for seeing healthier, standardised, pharmaceutical-grade, and more cost-effective cannabis products introduced into the market. We look forward to working with iCAN to bring our cutting-edge technology to consumers worldwide,” he adds.

Cannabis in Malta

Views on cannabis have been transforming globally in recent years. Many countries have made measures of decriminalisation, allowing medical usage and some even legalising recreational usage to a certain extent. Malta has already made steps towards decriminalisation and medical usage, in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

New policies were introduced in 2015 in Malta to decriminalise cannabis, though simple possession is still considered as an “arrestable offence”, according to press reports. People caught with quantities smaller than 3.5g of cannabis are subject to fines ranging between €50 and €100, but they do not need to appear in court but before a Justice Commissioner. However, the police is allowed to detain people caught with small quantities for up to 48 hours to interrogate them for information to fight drug trafficking.

The Maltese legislation is more lenient towards cannabis than any other drugs. An individual caught possessing small quantities of drugs other than cannabis for the second time in two years will need to appear before the Drug Offenders Rehabilitation Board and attend due rehabilitation. However, in the case of cannabis, offenders are exempted from appearing before the board, regardless of how many times they are caught.

At the same time, pressure had appeared to be growing in terms of the medical use of cannabis. Although the 2015 reform partially legalised medical cannabis as a last resort solution for patients suffering from chronic pain, news reports suggested only a few patients had been treated in practice due to a stock shortage of such products, as well as hiking prices of the ones available on shelves, according to a report by Malta Today.

In 2018, Malta officially legalised medical cannabis. After its third and final reading, amendments to the Drug Dependence Act were enacted by Parliament on the 26th of March. The law allows family doctors to prescribe non-smoking forms of medicine available at pharmacies for patients, after the Superintendent of Public Health has approved of a control card, according to another report by Malta Today.

The post Global cannabis firms ink letter of intent on distribution first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.