Rua Bioscience

09/09/2026

We'd like to invite you to tune into Style & Stigma, a new series we'll be bringing to your screens over the coming weeks.

In a cannabis flower, the stigma are the sticky, hair-like tips that catch pollen, and the style is the pathway that connects them to the o***y below. Together, they're essential to pollination.

Usually, in the cannabis world, we go to great lengths to avoid pollination; it's how we get that resin-coated flower that holds the key to healing. But for this series, we're borrowing the metaphor for a different kind of pollination, one we think matters right now - for the sharing and spreading of knowledge.

After decades of prohibition, cannabis carries more than its fair share of myths and preconceptions. Some of that comes from the stigma, and a lot of it simply comes from this plant, and its use, having been kept secret for so long.

Now that cannabis is finally emerging from the shadows, we think it’s important to grow understanding, healthy practices, and knowledge amongst us. And who better to learn from than the people who know the plant best? Patients and long time cannabis users, sharing their own reflections, experiences, and learnings.

Style & Stigma is about openness over judgement, and information over assumption.

Stay tuned.

07/09/2026

It's stories like these that keep us committed to this kaupapa. There are so many different conditions that people find relief for through this humble plant, it is 🤯

Desperate for something to help her son Tait, who lives with autism...

02/09/2026

Psilocybin Assisted Therapy (PAT) is an emerging treatment option that’s attracting growing attention from medical professionals around the world, with preclinical and clinical evidence suggesting benefits in neuroplasticity, emotional processing, and a reduction in symptoms.

Here in Aotearoa, Tū Wairua is at the forefront of this field; a research initiative developing a culturally-appropriate approach to the therapeutic use of indigenous psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Until now, the project's focus has been on treating problematic methamphetamine use. But as interest in PAT grows, so too does the scope of Tū Wairua.

The collective has received Health Research Council funding for a clinical trial exploring whether PAT can help reduce symptoms of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in sportspeople. The study will recruit adults experiencing persistent mild TBI symptoms into a structured therapeutic pathway grounded in a marae-based framework. The pathway will include preparation, a single PAT session, and supported integration following the treatment.

Cross-sectoral collaboration is integral to this kaupapa, with Mātai Medical Research Institute providing biomedical insights and Rua Bioscience contributing our expertise to the cultivation, medicine manufacturing and regulatory aspects.

For our part, involvement in Tū Wairua enables us to advance company aspirations for our community and the innovative health solutions for people everywhere. We are buoyed by the growing momentum behind new therapeutic pathways using natural products in clinical contexts and are excited to be a part of the movement.

Mātai Medical Research Institute Turanga Health
www.tuwairua.org

01/09/2026

We're pleased to announce Rua's preliminary financial results for the year ended 30 June 2026!

Revenue from customers increased 71% year on year which is a great result.

We're heading into FY27 with strengthened commercial pipelines and growing opportunities across our international markets. Woo hoo!

You can find the full results at https://www.ruabio.com/news/full-year-financial-results-fy26

27/08/2026

(Noisy fans aside) there’s little call for adding audio to footage captured at Rua’s cultivation facility..

The tunes are always on point

25/08/2026

Rua recently had a visit from local student Peyton Van Der Lem to our cultivation facility in Ruatorea. Peyton, who carries the badges of Head Student, House Captain and BOT Student Representative on her school jacket, is the sole Year 13 student taking biology and physics at Ngata College this year.

Peyton grew up in the isolated settlement of Rangitukia, and has spent much of her life around horses. She remembers noticing at a young age that there were no resident vets on the coast. When animals were injured or unwell, they’d have to be taken all the way to Gisborne.

So while she says she didn’t have a natural inclination towards the sciences, her aspiration since childhood to become a veterinarian has taken her in that direction, and she’s come to really enjoy science, especially physics.

This isn’t the first time Peyton has shared time with Rua cultivators in our facility. Earlier this year Peyton came by with a bunch of questions on Cloning and Transgenesis, which she was doing a research project on for NCEA. For her current project she’s deep diving on the use of different lighting conditions when growing radish plants indoors.

Ngata College principal Peter Heron is grateful for the opportunities that come from the relationship between Rua and their kura. The existence of a proximate industry for students to gain real world context for their learning is key, particularly in the age of AI, when there’s a growing need for students to be able to show that they have conducted their research themselves.

Next month Peyton will be joining a Rua-sponsored Careers Trip for Ngata College students to Hawkes Bay EIT, where she’s planning to study Veterinary Nursing next year.

For Rua, this is our why for what we do - to be able to play our part in building long-term capability for our people and our rohe. These initiatives with our local rangatahi offer more than financial or educational assistance, they represent an investment in the future leadership, innovation, and resilience of the next generation here in Tairawhiti.

We believe in you Peyton!

20/08/2026

It’s not only our relationship to our people and place that determines the names we give our products - Medsafe has the final say on which kupu can or cannot be used.

When it comes to medicines, regulations prohibit the use of names that might make reference to a food or a flavour.

But interestingly, we’ve noticed that sometimes a word might be disallowed in Te Reo Maori, such as ‘arani’, when its English counterpart, ‘orange’ has been allowed in another similar product.

Despite the intricacies (and mysteries!) of the process, it’s a creative part of our mahi that we enjoy, and are always learning from 🌱

17/08/2026

We have run the compassionate access programme since 2020, supporting Tairawhiti patients who would otherwise be unable to afford their medicinal cannabis prescription.

If you have benefited from the programme please let us know how it has impacted on your wellbeing. Send us a DM or email us on [email protected].

Kia ora.

13/08/2026

Rua Bioscience has entered into a joint venture between three companies and an entity representing the interests of an indigenous plant. This is another important step for Indigenous-led science in Aotearoa.

At the centre of the venture is Wairuakohu (Radula marginata), a liverwort endemic to Aotearoa. Found in native forests across the North Island and on some offshore islands, this unassuming plant has been around nearly 400 million years and grows only around 1mm a month, yet it holds something pretty special.

Wairuakohu produces rare bibenzyl cannabinoids, including perrottetinene (PET), a molecule very similar to THC, one of the main secondary metabolites of Cannabis Sativa. 2018 Research showed synthesised PET could cross the blood-brain barrier in mice, producing cooling and pain-relieving effects. It demonstrates benefits similar to THC without some of the side effects of THC.

Rua’s co-founder Manu Caddie recognised this potential early on and made the case for Rua to invest in the Wairuakohu research nearly ten years ago, grounded in our commitment to cannabinoid medicines and Indigenous innovation.

That early investment helped lay the foundation for the work that continues today and was formalised recently with the signing of a limited partnership between the Wairuakohu Charitable Trust, an entity established to protect and benefit the species that is governed by iwi (Māori tribal authorities) that have the plant growing in their territories, and research and development investors, Rua Bioscience, the Bioeconomy Science Institute, and IO Limited (Manu’s own company).

Protecting the taonga (treasured indigenous species) and the ecosystems that sustains it is central to the project, and the Wairuakohu Charitable Trust therefore represents the interests of the plant and its customary kaitiaki, holding a 50% shareholding in the venture, ensuring any future benefits from commercialising intellectual property held by the venture are shared equitably.

We're grateful to have played a part in getting this kaupapa off the ground, and excited to see this kaitiaki-led approach to research and innovation continue to grow.