Dr. Reddy's Laboratories on Thursday said that it has inked a pact to acquire Germany-based Nimbus Health GmbH.

The drug major said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company, which is a privately owned and licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler focused on medical cannabis in Germany.

The Hyderabad-based drugmaker said in a regulatory filing that Dr. Reddy will acquire Nimbus Health for an upfront payment, as well as performance and milestone-based earn-outs over the next four years

But the company did not share financial details.

It added that the acquisition will allow Dr. Reddy to build on Nimbus Health's strengths and introduce medical cannabis-based medicines as a promising treatment option for patients.

"Medical cannabis is increasingly being used to address and treat high unmet medical needs, particularly in pain management and CNS. Further, with numerous studies being conducted to leverage and introduce medical cannabis, we believe this is a must-be field for future healthcare delivery," Dr Reddy's Head of European Generics Patrick Aghanian noted.

He added that as more European countries adopt medical cannabis, the ability to leverage and access new geographies will be key.

Nimbus Health Founder and Managing Director Linus Maximilian Weber stated that the close alignment between the values of Dr. Reddy and Nimbus gave the company confidence that the entities can continue to focus on the existing business and grow future endeavours together.

The pharmaceutical company stated that Nimbus will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr. Reddy.

The demand for medical cannabis has increased over the past years with the legalisation of medical cannabis by the German parliament in 2017.

The medical cannabis market in Germany is already valued at 122 million euros with 25 percent growth in 2021 compared to 2020, making Germany one of the largest markets in Europe.

Around 150,000 German patients benefit from medical cannabis for their unmet health needs.

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