A start-up in the middle of the grey zone

Lars Müller wants to open up the young market for cannabinoids with Synbiotic. Above all, this requires staying power.

Lars Müller can't help but groan briefly when asked how much convincing he has to do with the authorities for his start-up. Müller briefly averts his gaze from the camera on his laptop and looks at the ceiling, then says: "On a scale of one to ten, it's probably more like an eleven." That's because, despite numerous discussions, much of what his startup does is still in the gray area, he says. "I'm often in contact with food agencies. They think we're selling drugs on the Internet," he says.

The reason for the suspicion: His company, Synbiotic, makes products from cannabinoids, which quickly sounds like cannabis and smoking pot, even though he's on a completely different path. Dietary supplements he produces - and that's what it means for him, a constant battle, with lawyers against authorities. "Essentially, they write us nasty letters and we write nasty letters back." In the meantime, he says, his team of lawyers is very well positioned in that regard, after all. For the founder, however, it is also a battle against politically entrenched views and for the acceptance of the population - because it is precisely the population that is supposed to become Müller's potential customer one day.

With Synbiotic SE, Müller wants to build a Europe-wide cannabinoid empire, or as he puts it: "We want to become the leading supplier for all products consisting of cannabinoids in Europe." This first requires a lot of educational work. Too often the terms cannabinoids, cannabis, THC and CBD are confused: cannabinoids are found in many plants, not only in hemp. The best known cannabinoid is probably THC, if only for its intoxicating effects. Another cannabinoid is CBD, which can help with cramps and inflammation. But cocoa beans and hops also contain cannabinoids that have no intoxicating effect. Those are what Müller is after.

A prominent investor is already on board

Research on the subject is still in its infancy, and there is a lot of pioneering work to be done. However, Lars Müller is already convinced that the plant products that can be made from them are far superior to some chemical ones. He therefore wants to find more and more applications and use more and more plants for this purpose. Only, how does he get there?

It is now four years ago, Lars Müller became one of the then few cannabis patients in Germany. Because he suffered from bronchial asthma, he was allowed to use cannabis as medicine. For a long time, it was not easy to get the right prescriptions. "Doctors looked very closely back then," he recalls. Today, there are an estimated 100,000 cannabis patients in Germany. There are no official statistics, but the Federal Republic is thus already considered a pioneer in Europe-wide comparison.

If others want to be stoned on THC at all costs, then that's their discussion. My job is to find cannabinoids that have a good effect but don't make you dizzy.

Synbiotic CEO Lars Müller

It was through this time that Müller's interest in cannabinoids was finally fueled. In 2018, he and the Solidmind Group GmbH, which he founded, bought the then small brand Hempamed. Since then, he has been producing and selling various oils, capsules or pastilles made from the cannabis plant. The oils are said to have anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties, CBD capsules are said to be beneficial for the body and the pastilles contain vitamin C or B6 in addition to CBD.

Since last summer, Müllers Solidmind Group GmbH has been part of Synbiotic SE and thus listed on the stock exchange. Until then, Synbiotic was just an empty shell, with no operating business. Behind the listed company is prominent investor Christian Angermayer, who immediately made Lars Müller CEO after the takeover. "We are on the lookout for exciting companies worldwide, want to buy where it fits or develop the next products ourselves straight away," says Müller, describing the company's long-term goal.

Politics must play along

To date, Synbiotic SE consists largely of the acquired Solidmind Group GmbH. According to a securities prospectus dated December 01, 2020, it also holds a 50.004 percent stake in Cannexo Pharma GmbH and a 25 percent stake in Pharmaceuticals Limited. Cannexo GmbH is expected to later become a B2B vehicle for all brands from the Synbiotic world. So far, however, the company is still operating under the radar. Pharmaceuticals Limited, which was founded back in 1989, produces products in the skin care sector, among others.

For many founders, going public represents an exit, but for Mueller, it's just the beginning. "As a listed company, we have to face some regulations, but we also have a completely different traction," he says. For example, he was able to raise €6.4 million via a capital increase in December. His SE is now listed on the primary market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange, on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the Xetra trading platform.

Can Mueller's plan work? Most recently, at least, politics and justice played along - at least a little: the UN Commission decided to remove cannabis from the list of the most dangerous drugs and the European Court of Justice ruled that CBD is not a narcotic. "These decisions open up the opportunity for us to pursue our mission even further," says Müller, who doesn't really want to get involved in political discussions. That's because they often revolve around the cannabinoid THC, he says. "If others want to be stoned on THC at all costs, then that's their discussion. My job is to find cannabinoids that have a good effect, but just don't get you stoned."

Müller therefore prefers to talk about a multi-billion market, in which he would like to have as large a share as possible with Synbiotic SE. "We have a good 750 million people in Europe, 150 million of them suffer from sleep problems, 120 million regularly complain of pain and up to 80 million suffer from anxiety disorders." If these people can one day be treated with a product based on cannabinoids instead of chemical drugs, Müller's calculation may work out: his company could then earn a lot of money and cannabinoids would finally come out of the grey area.