Cannabis start-up Algea Care opens therapy center in Leipzig

The start-up offers eight therapy centers. Algea Care is also expanding its management team.

The cannabis start-up Algea Care is opening a therapy center in Leipzig on Saturday with eight therapy places. The therapy takes place after a medical history has been taken by a doctor and is prescribed exclusively on a private prescription. Medical cannabis is suitable for pain patients as an alternative to opiates, but also for sleep and anxiety disorders and ADHD, for example, the start-up claims. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," says Julian Wichmann, co-founder of Algea Care. "Because the calming, pain-relieving and appetite-stimulating effects of the active ingredients in cannabis can potentially help many people." Algea Care also claims to provide patients with telemedical support.

The Frankfurt-based start-up employs 60 people and cooperates with 30 doctors. According to Algea Care, it has already cared for 3,000 patients. From July, software engineer Axel Schulz will become CTO of the start-up. Schulz comes from Clariness, a company in the field of patient recruitment for clinical trials, in which Rocket Internet, among others, has a stake. Anja Richter from Kings College London will become Director of Research. She will conduct research into the medical potential of cannabis.