Transaction liquidates non-strategic asset to one
of Organigram's most trusted clinic partners
MONCTON, NB, Oct. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, Organigram Holdings
Inc. (TSX VENTURE: OGI) (OTCQX: OGRMF), the parent company of
Organigram Inc. (the "Company" or "Organigram"), a leading licensed
producer of medical marijuana, is pleased to announce the completed
sale of Trauma Healing Centers (THC) to Harvest Medicine Inc.
("HMed" or "Harvest Medicine"), a medical cannabis clinic group
located in Edmonton and
Calgary, Alberta. Harvest Medicine
is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO,
OTCQB: VVCIF).
"Our top priority as a company is, and will continue to be, our
commitment to our patient community. As our industry evolves,
we have become increasingly confident in our strategy to focus on
producing the highest quality cannabis at Organigram which has us
reassessing our investments in clinic operations" stated
Greg Engel, CEO at Organigram.
"As a function of this focus, we believe the patients and clients
of Trauma Healing Centers will benefit from the experience and
expertise of our partners at Harvest Medicine".
THC is a multi-disciplinary clinic network that has been
providing medical cannabis care and education to thousands of
patients in Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and Ontario since 2014. Trauma Healing Centers
specializes in medical cannabis assessment and prescribing but also
offers patients individualized, multi-disciplinary wellness
plans.
Both THC and Harvest Medicine share a deeply ingrained
patient-centric approach to care. The transition of THC to Harvest
Medicine offers THC the opportunity to continue to flourish under
the management of an experienced medical management team, wholly
committed to the day-to-day operation of exceptional medical
cannabis clinics.
THC currently has locations in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick and
Ontario.
"We are pleased to see two excellent organizations join forces
to offer Canadian medical cannabis patients access to outstanding
care," says Greg Engel, CEO,
Organigram. "We are proud of our relationship with THC and look
forward to seeing the outstanding team at Harvest take the delivery
of care to the next level."
Organigram will continue to focus on supporting patients through
the production of high quality medical cannabis. As
previously communicated, the company has committed to ensuring
availability of medical products for the company's 15,000 medical
patients and has also recently announced it will cover the cost of
the $1/gram (or 10 per cent of sale
price) federal excise tax about to be implemented on all medical
cannabis products.
"Medical cannabis customers continue to be extremely important
to us," says Engel. "Even as we ramp up to a legal adult use
recreational cannabis market, we look forward to continuing to
apply our tremendous product development expertise and developing
technology to helping ensure patients across the country have
access to the strains and quality of product that meet their
specific needs."
"The excise tax will cause undue hardship and serve as an
unnecessary barrier to access for medical cannabis patients," says
Engel. "We believe Canadians who have come to rely on medical
cannabis should not be affected by changes brought on by
Canada's recreational cannabis
program."
The transaction will see HMED acquire 100% of the issued and
outstanding shares of THC from Organigram. The total purchase price
for the shares will be $1,200,000, to
be satisfied by the issuance of common shares in the capital of
VIVO at a price per share equal to the ten trading day volume
weighted average price immediately prior to the closing of the
transaction.
About Trauma Healing Centers
Trauma Healing Centers is a resource center for anyone suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, chronic pain,
cancer treatment or other disabling illness including veterans,
RCMP, first responders and civilians. Our team of dedicated
professionals will work with patients on an individual basis to
provide a wellness plan to enhance their quality of life.
For more information, visit www.traumahc.com
About Harvest Medicine
Harvest Medicine ("HMED", more information at www.hmed.ca) is an
education focused, patient-centric, network of specialty medical
cannabis clinics where patients receive best in class education,
care, advice and follow-up support as they approach
cannabinoid-based medicine.
Growing to over 15,000 active patients in under 18 months, HMED
is one of Canada's most successful
and fastest growing cannabis clinic networks. With the launch of
HMED Connect, a free telemedicine app and service, and the
acquisition of Trauma Healing Centers, HMED is focused on
aggressively expanding its effective and highly scalable model
across the country.
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO, based in Napanee,
Ontario, is recognized for trusted, high-quality products
and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health
Canada and operates world-class indoor cultivation facilities with
proprietary plant-growing technology. VIVO has a collection of
premium brands targeting unique customer segments, including Beacon
Medical™, FIRESIDE™, Canna Farms™ and Lumina™. In August 2018, VIVO acquired Canna Farms Limited, a
premium cannabis company based in Hope,
British Columbia. Canna Farms was B.C.'s first Licensed
Producer and has several years of craft cultivation experience and
expertise, as well as a significant patient base and positive cash
flow. The Company is significantly expanding its production
capacity and pursuing partnership and product development
opportunities domestically, as well as in select international
markets, including Germany and
Australia. VIVO also operates
Harvest Medicine, a patient-centric and highly scalable network of
specialty medical cannabis clinics as well as a soon to be released
free telemedicine app. VIVO has a healthy balance sheet with
approximately $100 million in cash
and is well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our business, in
Canada and internationally.
About Organigram Holdings Inc.
Organigram Holdings Inc. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed
company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Organigram Inc., is a
licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in
Canada.
Organigram is focused on producing the highest-quality,
indoor-grown cannabis for patients and adult recreational consumers
in Canada, as well as developing
international business partnerships to extend the company's global
footprint. In anticipation of the legal adult use recreational
cannabis in Canada, Organigram has
developed a portfolio of brands including The Edison Cannabis
Company, Ankr Organics and Trailer Park Buds. Organigram's primary
facility is located in Moncton, New
Brunswick and the Company is regulated by the Access to
Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR").
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
This news release contains forward-looking information which
involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual events to differ materially from current
expectations. Important factors - including the availability of
funds, consummation of definitive documentation, the results of
financing efforts, crop yields - that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in
the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see
www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
For more information, visit www.Organigram.ca
SOURCE OrganiGram