Entoura general manager Clare Barker has left the company after nearly four years, with Daniel Brighthope stepping into the role of managing director.

Brighthope has been a director of Entoura for three years, managing the firm’s finance and operations divisions. Previously, he worked at TGA-licensed GMP manufacturing facility Nutrition Care Pharmaceuticals.

Barker will remain in the medicinal cannabis industry, working with cannabis education website Honahlee to provide consultancy services to clients. She also plans to become more active in the industry bodies by joining working groups.

Clare Barker: encouraged by the number of clinical trials but red tape remains

Of her time with Entoura, she said: “The vision from the beginning was to open new pathways for previously inaccessible practitioner-patient treatment intervention through a strong emphasis on education.”

During her time with the company, its product range expanded to include chewable tablets, Australian oils and dried flower. The firm also ran a clinical trial of its Cann Group-produced 10:15 oil through the National Institute of Integrative Medicine.

She said: “I am proud to have led a small, privately owned company that lives the values of patient access by demonstrated commitment to the generation of clinical evidence.

“Entoura and the team are talented and driven with a strong commitment to improving patients’ quality of life. I am looking forward to watching the company continue to grow.

“I am also proud of working with doctors, lawyers, industry representatives and – most importantly – patients, and lobbying to broaden the Department of Veterans’ Affairs funding model to include support for those with mental health conditions.”

Brighthope said Entoura’s growth plans include strengthening its portfolio via differentiated product launches, supported by its clinical trial program.

He added: “This is in line with our vision of being patient centric first and foremost and working closely with our research and development partners to bring this vision to reality in an affordable way.

“The Brighthope family and Entoura wish to sincerely thank Clare for her service and her tireless efforts in growing the company to what it is today. We wish her all the very best in her future endeavours.”

On the current state of the industry, Barker said it was “very encouraging” to see the number of clinical trials on the Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry continue to grow.

She added: “The increase in Australian-grown and manufactured products in TGA-licensed facilities is both exciting and an important part of the growth of the overall medicinal cannabis industry in Australia.

“Unfortunately, six years on from legalisation, there still is a large amount of bureaucracy both in regulation and legislation.

“In particular, driving laws continue to constrain access and have resulted in numerous Australian patients not accessing medicines that have the potential to significantly improve their quality of life.”

Prior to launching Cannabiz, Martin was co-founder and CEO of Asia-Pac’s leading B2B media and marketing information brand Mumbrella, overseeing its sale to Diversified Communications in 2017. A journalist...

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