Australian health and wellness brands company Wellnex Life will bring registered medicinal cannabis and hemp-based products to domestic and international markets, via a newly formed joint venture with OneLife Botanicals.

The 50/50 joint venture with OneLife, a Victorian producer and manufacturer of cannabis and hemp-based products, will pave the way for the manufacture, distribution and sale of the products in a global market worth A$37 billion, and projected to reach A$258 billion by 2030.

OneLife – which recently acquired the Australian subsidiary of Canadian-based MediPharm Labs for A$6.9 million – operates a cannabis production, research and product development facility with the capability and licence to produce 20 tonnes of product per year.

Wellnex CEO George Karafotias said the joint venture marks “an exciting step” for the company in being one of the first to bring cannabis-based products to the Australian market, worth more than A$400 million alone.

“We are targeting production of a medicinal cannabis product appropriate for the SAS (special access scheme) market by the end of this year and are aiming to have a registered product in the S3 (Schedule 3) market by the end of CY23,” Mr Karafotias said.

“We’re pleased to be able to partner with OneLife … enabling Wellnex full traceability of the whole production and manufacturing process of cannabis products using Australian product and knowledge.”

Mr Karafotias added that Wellnex has begun the process to obtain registration of medicinal cannabis products under the S3 scheme, which has made medicinal cannabis products available as over-the-counter medicine for the first time in Australia.

Upon achieving TGA approval for an S3 product, Wellnex will be issued 4% of OneLife.

Wellnex has had advanced negotiations with leading pharmacy retailers to range its products under this scheme once products are approved and produced, Mr Karafotias said.

To stay up to date with the latest Wellnex Life news and announcements, register your details on the Wellnex Life investor centre.

Reach Corporate provides Corporate Advisory Services, including managing investor communications on behalf of Wellnex Life Limited and will receive fees for its services.

Sources:

• Wellnex life investor portal, Share Price and Announcement
• Businesswire, Global Cannabis Market Size & Forecast Report 2021
• FreshLeaf Analytics, Australian Medicinal Cannabis Market
• cannabiz, OneLife Botanicals snaps up MediPharm Labs Australia in A$6.9m deal