Zelda Therapeutics Limited provided a market update on the global launch strategy for the HOPE range of medicinal cannabis products, which will be acquired as part of the merger with Ilera Therapeutics. HOPE is a family of revenue generating medicinal cannabis formulations developed and owned by Ilera Therapeutics. HOPE consists of two proprietary medicinal cannabis formulations developed as pharmaceutical-grade products specifically formulated to address specific patient concerns associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The HOPE (HOPE 1 & 2) products were launched by Ilera Healthcare LLC in Pennsylvania in May 2019 with the support of HOPE Grows for Autism, a leading autism advocacy group based in Pennsylvania. Ilera's unique `Launch and Learn' strategy was then deployed to collect patient data. Feedback from patients has consistently shown success with and acceptance of HOPE. Since launch, HOPE has established itself as the top selling formulated medicinal cannabis product in Ilera Healthcare's portfolio. The rights to all HOPE products are owned by Ilera Therapeutics (to be merged with Zelda), while Ilera Healthcare/TerrAscend have been granted an exclusive license to sell HOPE in Pennsylvania. Zelira's Global Launch Strategy for HOPE: Zelda recently announced its intention to merge with Ilera Therapeutics to create a leading medicinal cannabis company that will be rebranded Zelira Therapeutics. If approved by shareholders, the merged company will have operations based in Australia and the United States that will provide unique access to the world's largest and fastest growing medicinal cannabis markets. A key priority for Zelira post-merger will be to launch HOPE into global markets from early 2020, with the aim of generating revenues in the first half of the year. In the United States, Zelira's strategy will be to license HOPE into multiple states using a virtual distribution model. In ex-US markets, Zelira will leverage its existing network of suppliers and distributers to market HOPE in different countries. These include Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom, which together represent the fastest growing global markets. Zelira has already established a strategic partnership with German-based HAPA pharm BV to supply pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis formulations for its clinical trials. Similarly, Zelira has also built relationships with companies to distribute its products in each of these countries. Zelda/Zelira expects to confirm supply, distribution and Licensing agreements for HOPE in global markets over the coming quarter. Zelira's Strategy to Augment `Launch, Learn and Develop' for HOPE: Zelda's long-term commitment to the development of medicinal cannabis medicines to improve treatment options for children with autism complements Ilera Therapeutics efforts with HOPE Zelda has previously undertaken a pilot clinical study in Chile to assess the efficacy of medicinal cannabis formulations in children diagnosed with autism. More recently, Zelda has funded one of the world's largest observational studies to assess the real-world use and impact of medicinal cannabis in children with autism spectrum disorder. Both studies have provided evidence that treatment with medicinal cannabis can improve behaviours associated with autism. Data collected from these studies is being used to guide the design of an interventional trial aimed at assessing the efficacy of different cannabis formulations to treat autism. This outcome highlights the power of Zelira's `Launch, Learn and Develop' model to simultaneously generate revenues and data that informs the design of clinically validated products to best meet patient needs.