We believe that the cannabis biotech market will ultimately be classified as part of the specialty pharmaceutical market, the fastest growing segment of the overall pharmaceutical industry. A greater incidence of chronic disease has resulted in the increasing need for specialty drugs. According to The Growth of Specialty Pharmacy, an April 2014 issue brief by the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization, spending on specialty drugs in 2012 in the U.S. was about $87 billion and is estimated to grow between two and four times to $300 billion to $400 billion by 2020. A 2013 report on medicines in development by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America counts the specialty drugs currently in development at over 900, most of which treat cancers, inflammatory diseases, HIV/AIDs, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and other rare disorders. These are the same disease categories for which cannabidiol (CBD) has shown the most compelling indications.
The diverse pharmacology of cannabinoids provides significant potential for therapeutics across many indications and disease areas that form the core of specialty pharmaceutical drugs.
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