Michael Sassano, The Global Medical Cannabis Industry
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/10/28
Michael Sassano is the Founder and Interim CEO of Somai Pharmaceuticals. Sassano highlights the rapid growth in global medical cannabis markets, including Germany, the UK, and emerging countries like Spain, France, and Brazil. Innovations in extraction technology, increased consumer demand, and evolving regulatory frameworks are shaping the industry. Sassano emphasizes the need for R&D investment, consistent product quality, and adapting to new market standards for future growth.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What major trends are you observing in the global medical cannabis industry?
Michael Sassano: Global medical markets are all exploding both from a perspective of country internal growth and new country growth. Germany is on track to be a $1 billion market currently, UK is surging as well as Australia. New countries are coming on line like Spain just announcing last week, France and Brazil to name a few. Older more restrictive countries like Ireland and Italy are opening and discussing adding more indications to expand access.
Jacobsen: How are innovations in extraction technologies influencing the efficacy of cannabinoid treatments?
Sassano: Currently most developed countries like Germany, Australia and UK are between 20 and under 30% extract usage. Some countries like Brazil, France and Spain are extract only markets. Innovation will drive adoption of extracts as it has done in the USA for over a decade. Because current offerings are basic and archaic crude oil oral drops, any innovation brings new demographics like vaporizer cartridges that have started to show themselves the last year and gummie chews which appeared late 2025.
Jacobsen: How is consumer demand impacting the development of cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products?
Sassano: As more and more clinics and education reaches patients, they are now becoming aware that amazing choices exist in the legal markets. Choice of product has been a main driver of adoption as countries like Australia have over 1000 SKU’s and Germany 650 SKU’s. Quality standards have also driven larger adoption as novel extract come on market further chipping away at the legacy markets.
Jacobsen: What are the specific therapeutic benefits of cannabinoid-containing pharmaceutical extracts offer?
Sassano: Although flower is king, extract offerings have greatly improved opening of better and more sustainable treatment for different demographics like parents and elderly, and have opened up better therapy avenues for chronic needs like various pain categories that require consistent dosage. Additionally mental disorders like sleep categories, stress and anxiety which may require steady dosage for prolonged periods benefit greatly through extracts advancements.
Jacobsen: How are companies adapting to the growing expectation for efficacy and consistency?
Sassano: Most companies have are new to cannabis in EU and gloabl markets and have a very poor guidance for the future. Crude oil extracts do not exist in a future world and it takes over 1 year to get new product in markets if you know what you are doing. As extracts improve, flower companies will end up with more pressure and extract manufactures will be forced to revamp their portfolios. Most extracts companies have too much variability batch to batch but since many are under white-labels, there is little clarity for patients to understand these issues except trial and error.
Jacobsen: What is the role of research and development play in advancing the refinement of cannabinoid-based treatments within the pharmaceutical sector?
Sassano: Most companies are not investing in new areas and have focused on core flower businesses as revenue lines. Imagine that the day you want to make a new product, assuming your facility has the rooms already built, from the time it takes to procure equipment 6 months to a year, validate equipment and batches 3 plus months, and go through minimal accelerated stability of 6 months plus dossier documentation of 2 months, it takes almost 2 years to get new products in the market. This is pharmaceutical and planning must be years in advance. The focus on short term profits puts R&D to the side and leads to a slow painful end of the companies.
Jacobsen: What is the future of the medical cannabis market evolving over the next few years?
Sassano: There is a global medical explosion happening as we speak. More and more countries are opening access globally. The HHS 252-page report has made it clear cannabis is safe and good for at least 15 indications. Germany taking cannabis off the narcotics list has sent all eu regulators scrambling to adopt upto date policies of access for patients as well as allowed doctors to prescribe for any and most all indications. This is the fastest growing segment in cannabis today, the gloabl markets. And the barrier to entry is high.
Jacobsen: Following from the previous question, what about regulatory systems and market forces?
Sassano: Regulatory is herbal medicines and access for EU-GMP pharmaceutical cannabis is global and taps directly into 100,000+ pharmacy network in EU as well as millions of pharmacies globally. Although the medical products is massive barrier to entry, once inside the cannabis products can move globally very easily. Market forces remain at play like big pharma and big alcohol concerned about their core business impacts. As well as pharmacist lobbies wanting to keep the revenue in the system. Medical global cannabis is a logical path for regulators and will be the future for sometime.
Jacobsen: How do you see the intersection of innovation, consumer demand, and regulatory standards for the cannabis market?
Sassano: Creative exists in pharmaceutical products and there are many examples of any delivery devise in real medical products, all accept rolling a joint and smoking it. So regulators like France and Spain see extract innovations as the pharmaceutical future. Higher performing extracts, economical price and a pleasant taste for users that consume 1 to 4 times a day is the golden rule of innovation that will open up new demographics.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Michael.
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