Three foreign companies apply for medicinal cannabis patents in Peru

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

On 23 February 2019 Peru published in the official gazette the regulations for the use of medical marijuana in the country. Such regulations cover guidelines for research, production, importation, medical prescriptions, registry of patients, marketing and sale of medicinal marijuana.

Since that date, three foreign companies applied for six medicinal marijuana related patents at the National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi): Australian Zelda, Canadian Canopy Growth and American Ebbu. The patents look to cover drugs to treat tumors, skin conditions and sleep disorders; methods for the synthesis of cannabinoids; water-soluble compositions comprising purified cannabinoids; and formulations and compositions of cannabis tablets and methods for its preparation.

The Congress of Peru legalized production, import and commercial sale of cannabis for medicinal use in November 2017. Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski proposed the law after police arrested a group of parents who were distilling cannabis oil at home for children with cancer and severe epilepsy.