Augur Associates, consulting firm for cannabis and hemp companies

Augur Associates is a French consulting firm for companies in the cannabis and hemp industries. Positioned to meet the full range of needs of stakeholders in the hemp and cannabis markets, Augur* is the first initiative of its kind in France.

Newsweed: How did the Augur project come about?

Benjamin-Alexandre Jeanroy: I worked for the UNODC in Central America and Southeast Asia. Upon my return to France, I launched several civil society initiatives focused on drug policy reform with a participatory approach, including ECHO Citoyen which used lobbying tools, but did so transparently. For example, we launched a poll with Terra Nova and IFOP that showed that 82% of the French were in favor of medical cannabis, which undoubtedly prompted the Minister of Health to begin considering medical cannabis in France.

I then worked with others to help establish the Hemp Trade Association and worked on a strategy to bring the issue to the forefront of the political arena. The operational needs surrounding the Union arose naturally. Our first mission stemmed from the desire to collectively and ethically build the CBD industry in France, which was just emerging at the time.

We have also enabled the SPC to evolve and incorporate a new dimension with medical cannabis, whereas it originally focused solely on wellness. The Union has thus become the leading advocate and communications partner for the medical and wellness sectors, with the goal of establishing a French industry.

We then identified a need for professional services dedicated to these complex and specialized industries. To address these key gaps, Emmanuel joined us to focus on the pharmaceutical sector—specifically to develop clinical trials for medical cannabis—and then Arnaud joined us to help resolve a fundamental issue: securing funding to scale up existing projects and launch new ones.

NWD: Emmanuel, Arnaud, how did you get into the cannabis industry?

Emmanuel Simonot: My attention was drawn to the therapeutic use of cannabis and psychedelics in neurology, with products like Sativex and Epidyolex. Today, there is widespread agreement on the potential relief that cannabis offers for some 50 different conditions. In Germany, which is a bit ahead of France in this regard, 150,000 cannabis prescriptions have been issued. I would like to give this product a chance, just as I would any other active pharmaceutical ingredient, while ensuring that we develop both clinical trials that meet pharmaceutical industry standards and training programs for physicians to ensure patient safety and efficacy.

Arnaud Lefebvre: When I was working in real estate investment funds, I was surprised to discover that there were similar funds in North America dedicated to cannabis-related real estate. After drawing parallels with Europe, I decided that 2020 was the right year to get started, given the upcoming reforms in Europe.

NWD: What does Augur offer?

B: Augur is at the heart of the hemp and cannabis ecosystem in France. We offer a comprehensive range of services to help companies expand globally: operational strategy consulting, financial consulting (acquisitions, fundraising, audits, and business plan reviews), strategic partnerships at the French, European, and global levels, legal support (regulatory compliance) and political support (campaigns and events), pharmaceutical services (clinical research and pharmaceutical production chains, EU-GMP certification support, and development plan formulation)…

We have also launched the Confluence Club, along with Newsweed, a B2B club for current and future professionals in the cannabis and hemp industry in France, which will return to Paris in September.

NWD: When it comes to fundraising, is that a common practice in France right now?

A: There are very few examples in France. The investors willing to invest in cannabis are either business angels with knowledge of the sector or foreign venture capital firms that are adapting business models they’ve seen elsewhere.

NWD: How can we explain the fact that French investors are dragging their feet?

A: I attribute this primarily to three factors:

• A lack of understanding of the subject. Venture capital firms have invested heavily in recent years, but have not yet taken the steps to educate themselves properly on the subject (not to mention that the French ecosystem is still relatively small).
• Reforms in France are moving very slowly—much more slowly than elsewhere—which never reassures investors
• And a reluctance stemming from a certain French conservatism on the subject

NWD: What are the policy levers in France?

B: For our part, we have written two white papers in collaboration with the Hemp Union on medical cannabis and wellness hemp. These are valuable tools for education, data collection, and providing recommendations to decision-makers.

A: In my opinion, this will require regulatory progress first, and then the business side will follow. Examples from other countries and past successes can serve as inspiration. In Germany, the latest major fundraising round For example, it will encourage investors to take a closer look at what this market is all about and where the opportunities lie.

B: There are various factors that reinforce one another. The biggest challenge today is reaching people who aren’t familiar with the subject. Perhaps we need to seek out the skills and experience of people who have worked in other fields and who believe in this subject.

Politicians and the mainstream media are now taking a more favorable stance on a topic that, until recently, was consistently met with skepticism. It has become a somewhat serious matter, both because of its potential to benefit the agricultural sector, the need for patients to access medical cannabis, and simply for people who are just looking to improve their daily lives. I’m also thinking about the growth of the hemp industry and its applications, which have yet to be developed or widely adopted.

E: The government must reclaim its sovereignty. We have some encouraging news to report regarding therapeutic treatment and the need for high-quality products, which we can help source. In return, the government must support cannabis research and establish clinical trials, which currently lack funding. The government must support this development.

NWD: Is this an issue that is holding back the French pharmaceutical industry?

E: For the government to regulate, it needs studies, which themselves require regulation. For now, we don’t have any. And once medical cannabis is distributed to patients, as long as access to it and its price remain more complicated and higher than on the black market, there will be difficulties in prescribing it.

B: Medical cannabis is not evaluated in the same way as traditional pharmaceutical formulations. There is a real need to take existing practices into account, or else we risk creating a system that will be ineffective.

NWD: You seem to be describing a lack of regulation in France today, but you want to reach out to companies that want to enter the French market. Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?

B: This is a transnational issue that already presents opportunities for us to work on. Europe needs initiatives and expertise, which currently require support in order to develop. We believe we have a responsibility to help foster this expertise.

But what matters to us today is laying a solid foundation and providing high-quality services to professionals who are doing their best to navigate the current regulatory maze. They need a team that knows the subject inside and out. That’s exactly who we are.

*The author of this article is also a co-founder of Augur. In the interest of transparency, he did not participate in this interview.