Zelda Therapeutics Limited is set to merge with Ilera Therapeutics LLC, a privately held medicinal cannabis and cannabinoid science company based in the United States, through an all-scrip transaction.
Ilera Therapeutics is a therapeutically focused medicinal cannabis and cannabinoid science company recently spun-out of Ilera Healthcare LLC with which Zelda had entered into a strategic partnership in March 2019. Its operations are centered in Pennsylvania and Louisiana, while its clinical networks and distribution channels span North America.
The merger between Zelda and Ilera Therapeutics is expected to create a global medicinal cannabis company, which will be rebranded as "Zelira Therapeutics Limited." The merger brings together a portfolio of revenue generating medicines and products undergoing clinical development that are expected to enter the market from 2020.
With operations in Australia and the USA, Zelira will have a strong platform to access global medicinal cannabis markets. Ilera Therapeutics provides direct access to the USA, the world's largest medicinal cannabis market with over 4 million registered patients, while Zelda provides complementary access to the world's fastest growing markets including Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The merger brings together long-term supply and distribution relationships with pharmaceutical grade manufacturers in Europe (HAPA pharm BV via Zelda) and the USA (Ilera Healthcare and Ilera Holistic via Ilera) ensuring access to large scale quantities of pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis to supply large and growing patient populations.
Zelira Therapeutics will also bring together expertise in clinical trial design, drug development, cannabinoid science research and consumer marketing along with a strategy to commercialize existing medicinal cannabis and pharmaceutical markets.
The merged company also gains an experienced U.S.-based management team with a successful track-record in the cannabis sector. It is proposed that three members of the Ilera Therapeutics team will join the Zelira Therapeutics Board including Osagie Imasogie (as Chairman) and Lisa Gray (as Director).
