The Brazilian-Uruguayan startup PUCMED (Productora Uruguaya de Cannabis Medicinal) is preparing to be the first in the country to go public on the stock exchange. Headquartered in Curitiba-PR, the company founded in 2019, should go public on the Toronto stock exchange, in Canada and there is still the possibility of going public on the B3 stock exchange, headquartered in São Paulo.
According to the business strategy, PUCMED wants to become the first unicorn of the cannabis industry in Latin America. This means that the partners intend to make it the first startup in the sector valued at more than US$ 1 billion.
Production is concentrated in Uruguay. The total area is 15 hectares. The climate-controlled greenhouses occupy a space of 11,000 m², with semi-hydroponics production, another 10,000 m² are reserved for open cultivation, in this area there are only products authorized by the European Union.
According to founder Dr. Afonso Cardozo Ferretjans, production capacity is 2 million bottles and cannabis-based products.
More than 7,000 patients are seen monthly through partnerships with associations and individual imports.
After the expansion of the laboratory plant in the Free Zone of Florida, Uruguay, the startup should close 2023 with the capacity to serve more than 22,000 people monthly.
PUCMED’s expected revenue for the next three years is approximately US$ 90 million. The progression should be US$ 13 million in 2023, US$ 28 million in 2024 and US$ 42 million in 2025
Cannabis: The Billionaire Potential
According to data from the Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Cannabis (Abicann), the medical cannabis market could reach US$ 30 billion a year in Brazil from 2030. About 10% of the Brazilian population, that is, 18 million people, could treat disease symptoms with plant derivatives.
According to Kaya Mind, medical cannabis can move BRL 9.5 billion after the fourth year of legalization. For the data company, the medicinal properties of the plant can benefit 40% of the population, which corresponds to 78 million Brazilians.
