Until now, Portugal had given all kinds of facilities and a clear path for the authorization of cannabis cultivation for medicinal use, but its regulatory agency (INFARMED) had not approved any cannabis plant products for medicinal purposes.
The first company to achieve this was Tilray Portugal, based in Cantanhede (Coimbra District). It has demonstrated to Infarmed that its product has the necessary safety and quality conditions to be commercialized.
Tilray medical cannabis products have been approved for the following treatments:
- Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries.
- Nausea, vomiting (as a result of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and HIV combined medication for hepatitis C).
- Appetite stimulation in the palliative care of patients undergoing cancer treatment or with HIV / AIDS.
- Tourette syndrome, epilepsy and treatment of severe seizure disorders in children.
- Therapeutic resistant glaucoma and chronic pain (associated with oncological or nervous system diseases, such as neuropathic pain injury caused by nerve damage, phantom limb pain, trigeminal neuralgia, or after shingles).
GMP and Tilray Portugal Certification
In May 2020, Tilray received its third and complete Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for Tilray Portugal. Full GMP certification allows Tilray to manufacture medicinal cannabis extracts in-house and to export finished medicinal cannabis products produced under GMP conditions. They can export both dried flowers and oil, from Portugal through the European Union and other international markets with with authorized national programs of medicinal cannabis.
The certification also authorizes Tilray to manufacture extracts in bulk to sell as cannabis APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). Also it provides additional quality control laboratory capacity to advance its innovation and product research capabilities.
If you want to know more about the world of medicinal cannabis, we invite you to follow the periodic publications of our blog, where we share the latest news of the sector.
Author:
Enrique Corral
Business Development Manager