SETEK Co-Founders David Pearce and Mark Mees
Taupo based
SETEK Therapeutics
S
ETEK Therapeutics is on a journey to build a
sustainable medicinal cannabis business that will
change lives for the better, while being gentle on the
planet and its resources.
The company has been methodical and deliberate in its development
and is looking ahead three to five years, where it aims to have built a
successful business and established itself as a leading international
medical cannabis brand.
Chief Executive Mark Mees says SETEK was granted a licence in
February 2019 to cultivate and process cannabis for research purposes,
and aims to have its first products on the market late 2020/early 2021.
“We have always been more concerned with doing it right than getting
there first. With the assembly of a world-leading team of scientific,
medical, horticultural and commercial experts with a vast knowledge
across the medicinal cannabis value chain, SETEK aims to become New
Zealand’s most trusted and lowest cost-provider of pharmaceutical
grade, 100% NZ certified organic medical cannabis products,” says Mr
Mees.
While SETEK is committed to maintaining environmentally friendly
sustainable practices, it also aspires to be the number 1 employer of
choice in Australasia, and has adopted the NZ Minimum Living Wage.
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Taupo businessman David Pearce, co-founder and Executive Director
says job numbers could easily grow to 250 or more as legislative
change opens up new markets in the natural health and personal care
sectors.
More than 100 jobs will be created when SETEK sets up its operation in
Taupo later this year...
Mr Pearce says operating in Taupo enables the option to utilise
geothermal energy in conjunction with biofuels and solar energy which
aligns with SETEK’s sustainability goals.
“We also want to support local Iwi in their aims for the return of
tangata whenua to their ancestral lands, and we recognise that local job
creation is one of the keys to achieving this in a sustainable way,” says
Mr Pearce.
This sensible and sustainable approach towards the industry has helped
SETEK pull together a high-calibre Advisory Board, chaired by former
Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne.
Mr Dunne says he joined SETEK because he was not only impressed
with the company’s vision and plans to build a successful international
business, but also their genuine focus on helping people.
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