Helping Medisonal achieve greater transparency in the medical cannabis market

With Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPM) on the rise in the UK, clear information for those who could benefit from them is not easily accessible. Doctors and patients receive confusing and conflicting information from sources online and patients are frustrated with how hard it is to find a doctor who can prescribe them CBPM.

That’s where Medisonal steps in.

Founded in 2020 by Lloyd Michaels, an investment banker, Medisonal is a start-up on a mission to help UK doctors and patients by making CBPM education, including the importation and distribution of CBPM, more accessible. They have a great team of people with very different skill sets that allow them to work well together.

CBPM is known to be effective for a variety of conditions, from chronic pain, autism, epilepsy, and some psychiatric conditions. Lloyd faced first-hand the benefits of CBPM after recovering from a shoulder operation.

Their platform, which is the UK’s first truly independent platform for CBPM, offers doctors and patients quality information from their expert scientists, business developers, technologists, and pharmacists, providing greater transparency throughout the whole CBPM market.

In addition, Medisonal uses economies of scale to achieve better pricing for patients, appealing to doctors that prescribe CBPM. They provide a one-stop-shop portal for doctors allowing them to purchase all types of legal medicinal cannabis in the UK.

Founding a start-up, especially in an emerging market like medical cannabis, is a challenge for any entrepreneur. For their platform to succeed, they needed funding, manufacturer agreements, supply of goods agreements, sale & distribution agreements, employment contracts and employee share plans in place. Our Enterprise Plan was perfectly positioned for Medisonal, allowing them to get solid legal fundamentals in place from the start.

Stephen Evans and Callum Giliker, both solicitors in our corporate team, assisted Medisonal with their £900K fundraise in 2021. The funds were used to hire talent, create their platform and ensure the right technology and infrastructure was in place. Hana Salussolia, CEO of Medisonal said:

It was delightful working with Stephen and Callum on the fundraise. As an ex-investment banker, I’ve worked with many law firms and the legal process can be quite painful. We wanted to make sure our investors were protected and there were no delays with the raise. The fundraise was executed smoothly and Stephen and Callum were both very helpful. Callum was extremely bright. They both pointed out lots of things that we had missed.

When asked what it was like working with Hana, Callum said:

Hana was a delight to work with, and helpfully knew what questions to ask when it came to the fundraising and what happens afterwards. Working with clients that have a good idea of what they need from you and are able to articulate this clearly always solidifies a great partnership.

Medisonal had recent success with their partnership with the PCCA. The PCCA help pharmacists and prescribers create personalised medicine. This new partnership allows Medisonal to leverage PCCA’s import licenses and infrastructure, enabling them to expand globally. Sarah Gunton, commercial partner at Harper James, assisted Medisonal with manufacturer, supply and distribution agreements to allow the partnership to be a success. Hana commented:

This strong alliance will help us to achieve our common goal of helping patients to get access to high quality medicinal cannabis at reasonable prices. Sarah was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly.

Ella Bond, senior employment lawyer, assisted Medisonal with employment advice, allowing them to hire the right talent. Ian Fraser, senior employee incentives solicitor, then created employee share plans to help reward and retain their talent.

Medisonal has seen huge success in the past two years. When asked what other businesses can learn about their journey so far, Hana said:

I think the most important thing to understand is what you want to deliver. Is there a genuine market need? This is a question you should ask. I believe there is a disconnection about what a start-up wants and what the market needs. Spend a good amount of time validating your idea and keep revalidating as you grow. Also, be open to criticism!

Medisonal’s success only continues to rise as they secure more interest globally. They plan on launching in Czech Republic, Iberia, France and Denmark. We look forward to continuing to support them on their journey.

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