Rua Signs Supply Agreement, Targets Poland and Czechia

PO Box 1387, Gisborne 4040, Aotearoa New Zealand | 0800 RUABIO | www.ruabio.com



FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
NZX Limited
Wellington

Thursday 23 February, 2023


Rua Signs Supply Agreement, Targets Poland and Czechia

Rua Bioscience (NZX: RUA) today announced it has signed a five-year master supply agreement with Motagon
to supply medicinal cannabis products to Central and Eastern European countries. Critically, the agreement
gives Rua access to the emerging medicinal cannabis markets of Czechia and Poland.

Rua’s immediate focus will be on entering the Polish market, which is described as one of the largest and
fastest-growing markets in Europe. By the close of 2023, the Polish medicinal cannabis market is expected to
be worth NZ$92m based on previous proprietary forecasts. With no domestic cultivation, it is a major importer
of dried flower.

Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Naske, who is currently in Europe for business development says the
agreement is critical in the context of Rua’s export strategy and will see Rua become an early mover in the
challenging and potentially lucrative Polish medicinal cannabis industry.

“The Polish regulations are notoriously complex and exhaustive but we have a world-class regulatory team
across this and we’re hitting the ground running. Rua has now submitted all regulatory information to
Motagon who will, in turn, manage submissions to the Polish regulator for product approval.

“The product approval process is expected to take 12 months and sustainable revenue from the signed
agreements is around 18 months away. However, once complete, we expected to be one of only a few
companies with access to this market,” he says.

Mr Naske, says this milestone is a tribute to the foresight of successive members of Rua’s commercial team
and demonstrates the consistency of Rua’s export strategy.

The Polish medicinal cannabis market was established in 2017 and in recent years has consistently displayed
double-digit growth. Though in some instances Polish medicinal cannabis patients have their prescriptions
funded by Statutory Health Insurance, Poland is largely a private payers market.

Rua will also advance plans for the Czech market. Czechia is one of the most progressive medicinal cannabis
markets in Europe. It has seen steady growth over the last five years, largely thanks to a comprehensive public
reimbursement programme whereby up to 90% of medical cannabis costs are covered by the Government.

In Czechia, doctors with a specialist qualification in areas such as oncology, neurology and geriatrics can
prescribe medicinal cannabis for specific indications. 87% of the prescriptions issued here are for chronic pain
1
.

Because the domestic supply chain is relatively immature, Czechia holds a lot of promise for exporters. Recent
reports suggest the Czech market will be worth NZ$8.4m and to have grown to 7,000 patients by the end of
2023.

The company will update the market as it makes progress in both markets.


Ends.




GENERAL RELEASE

PO Box 1387, Gisborne 4040, Aotearoa New Zealand | 0800 RUABIO | www.ruabio.com


For shareholder enquiries please visit www.ruabio.com, or contact:
Kerry Donovan
Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager
info@ruabio.com
0800 RUABIO


Sources:
1. The European Cannabis Report: 7th edition: Reports. Prohibition Partners. (2022, April 8). Retrieved 25 May
2022.