Teva Israel and Cannbit-Tikun Olam signed an exclusive and mutual collaboration agreement, in which Cannbit-Tikun Olam will produce several medical cannabis products, administered as oils rich in THC and CBD, for Teva Israel. This will be done according to Teva’s instructions and stringent standards, and the products will be exclusively marketed and distributed by Teva in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The oils are based on strains developed by Cannbit-Tikun Olam and selected exclusively by Teva Israel due to their safety profile and strong therapeutic efficacy. In the future, and to the extent possible, the cannabis oils will also be marketed by Teva in Ukraine, where the government is currently developing regulations.
“The medical cannabis arena is developing and being professionalized at a dizzying pace in Israel, and there is more openness to it in Israel and worldwide,” said Yossi Ofek, CEO of Teva Israel. “Today, it is clear to many in the pharmaceutical industry and in the medical community that use of oils produced from specific cannabis strains may provide additional treatment options and respond to unmet medical needs of patients. We decided to join forces with Cannbit-Tikun Olam following an in-depth and lengthy review and I have no doubt that the medical cannabis oils Cannbit-Tikun Olam produces – according to Teva’s high quality and safety standards – will help us realize our goal of improving the lives of patients.”
Cannbit-Tikun Olam general manager Avinoam Sapir said, “We are proud of Teva Israel’s expression of trust in choosing us as its strategic partner for Teva Israel entry into the market of medical cannabis products. I believe that this is one of the most important agreements concluded in the industry in recent years in Israel and that it will position Cannbit-Tikun Olam and Teva Israel as leading players in the ever-growing and developing medical cannabis market in Israel and beyond. I am glad to return and cooperate with one of the leading players in the pharma industry, and to penetrate later – if the regulatory environment allows it – also to Ukraine, where Teva is a market leader.”
Sapir is once again working with Teva Israel, where he served as CEO from 2013 (and later also as cluster head for Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine) to 2020. The agreement with Teva comes in addition to a series of strategic agreements Cannbit-Tikun Olam has concluded over the past year with a host of companies and projects, including with Solgar-SupHerb to produce cannabis-based nutritional supplements; Wavelength, a leader in the development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry; cosmetics company Ahava, for the development of products based on Dead Sea minerals along with CBD; a joint CBD brand with Meditrend and Diplomat; an agreement for work in the UK with ITH Pharma; and one with German company Fette Pharma.
As part of the agreement and subject to Teva Israel receiving all the required regulatory approvals, the companies will collaborate for the extended period of 10 years, which they will also be able to extend by another nine years.