Is Big Pharma Coming For Your Cannabis Business?

Cannabis stocks have struggled in the market in recent years as the industry push to gain ground on the regulatory front hasn't progressed as quickly as investors had hoped. Yet pharma companies outside the cannabis industry have been adding or exploring cannabis partnerships and products.

Here are some pharma stock plays on the cannabis industry for investors to watch ahead of the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference April 11-12 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Several major drug companies have expanded into the cannabis space in recent years via partnerships, internal research or major acquisitions.

Related Link: The Evolution Of Social Drinking: Beverage Companies Dip Their Toes Into Cannabis

Epidiolex Makes History: The most widely-known example of cannabis success in the pharma industry is GW Pharmaceuticals. GW made history back in 2018 when its seizure drug Epidiolex became the first cannabis-derived drug ever approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In February 2021, Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC JAZZ announced a $7.2-billion buyout of GW Pharma, a huge payday for long-term GW investors. Epidiolex generated $736.4 million in sales for Jazz in 2022.

Other Big Pharma Opportunities: Pharma giant AbbVie Inc ABBV is one of the pioneers of cannabis-based treatments. AbbVie sold its Marinol synthetic THC product to Alken Labs in 2019 for $10 million. AbbVie doesn't have any cannabis-related products in its pipeline, but it has at least 59 cannabis-related patents related to treatments for cancer, arthritis, skin disorders and other uses.

U.S.-listed Israeli pharma company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd TEVA has focused on its domestic cannabis opportunities in Israel. In December 2021, the Israeli unit if Teva signed a deal with Israel's Tikun Olam-Cannbit to enter the Israeli medical cannabis market.

Related Link: The Intersection Of Cannabis & Consumer Products: These Non-Cannabis Companies Are Benefiting From The Growing Industry

Cautionary Tale: Unfortunately, not all pharma companies that expand into cannabis have a happy ending. Insys Therapeutics famously marketed synthetic THC product Sundros as a treatment for HIV/AIDS-induced anorexia and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Insys was also developing other drugs based on cannabis derivatives, but that's certainly not what the company was most mildly known for. Its main product was Subsys, a liquid form of the deadly opioid street drug fentanyl.

Company executives were convicted of racketeering in 2019, and the company filed for bankruptcy that same year after agreeing to pay $225 million to settle criminal and civil opioid cases.

Learn More: Cannabis industry insiders and experts will be discussing pharma partnerships and unconventional ways to invest in the cannabis industry at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, April 11-12.

Learn more about this and other upcoming Benzinga Cannabis events at this link.

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