Analysis: The closure of Rich Lister-backed Helius Therapeutics feels like a death knell for the big vertically-integrated medical cannabis companies that once dominated the industry.
There’s a small handful of such firms still operating, such as Waikato-based Ora Pharm, Bay of Plenty’s Eqalis, and even a slimmed-down post-insolvency Cannasouth.
But the sprawling cannabis companies that laid the groundwork for New Zealand’s industry are now largely a thing of the past.
Voluntary administrators from Calibre Partners were appointed by the company’s board on Wednesday, March 11, roughly a year on from its chair and largest investor, Guy Haddleton, sounding the alarm bells.
In an email leaked to Newsroom last year,…