Novartis AG was partnering with a Canadian cannabis company backed by billionaire Peter Thiel as part of a move into the cannabis industry.
Its Sandoz Canada division was forming a strategic alliance with Tilray, a producer of cannabis medicines in capsules and other formats. The partners planned to develop new cannabis-based medicines, with Sandoz distributing them to hospitals and pharmacies.
Tilray chief executive Brendan Kennedy described the alliance as an important milestone in bringing medical cannabis into conventional medicine.
This was not the first partnership between Tilray's parent company and a major healthcare business. Seattle-based Privateer Holdings was also working with Shoppers Drug Mart, described in the report as Canada's largest pharmacy chain.
The article reported that privately held Privateer had generated $200 million in revenue since January, setting a record within the emerging cannabis industry. Its investors included wealthy individuals, family offices and institutional investors.
Canadian companies were helping cannabis make the transition from an illegal substance to an accepted medical product. Toronto-based Cronos Group had recently become the first cannabis company listed on Nasdaq.
