Curphey taking up new role in medicinal cannabis firm
FORMER Blis Technologies chief marketing officer Julie Curphey has been appointed chief commercial officer at Helius Therapeutics — New Zealand’s largest licensed medicinal cannabis company.
Before taking on the role this month, Ms Curphey spent two months as the company’s director of commercial operations. Before joining Helius, she spent five years at Blis Technologies, based in Dunedin.
For 11 years she was with Pfizer overseas, joining as business intelligence and market research group manager at Pfizer Australia, then transferring to Pfizer UK as business intelligence team leader.
She was appointed head of customer intelligence for Pfizer Europe’s primary care business unit, then European brand team leader for Viagra and, most recently, director of business operations/chief of staff.
In a statement, Ms Curphey said she was delighted to be part of New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis industry which, in the past year, had transitioned from an aspiration space to one of delivery.
In July last year, Helius was New Zealand’s first medicinal cannabis business to achieve a GMP licence for manufacturing medicines, covering the first products to market.
Last month, it was awarded the industry’s first licence renewal and expansion to enable it to produce both New Zealand grown and made CBD active ingredients and products.