Blueberries Medical Corp. (CSE: BBM) (OTC: BBRRF) (FRA: 1OA) (the
“
Company” or "
Blueberries"), a
leading Latin American licensed producer of medicinal cannabis and
cannabis-derived products, is pleased to provide investors with the
following update on the Company’s significant recent operational
achievements and upcoming milestones:
Highlights of Operational
Achievements
- Expansion of Cultivation
Facilities: Newly constructed open-air greenhouses
completed and fully operational, increasing initial production
capacity by approximately 40% to 150,000 sq.ft. Upgrade to facility
infrastructure, including irrigation and electrical systems, water
reservoirs and propagation facility also completed.
- Extensive Cultivation
Underway and Scaling Up: Cannabis crops are currently
growing in over 50,000 sq.ft. of open-air greenhouses at the
Guatavita property; harvesting now underway along with additional
planting in newly constructed greenhouses. Yield performance to
date has been in line with expectations.
- Extraction:
Customized extraction line with capacity to process up to 75,000
kg/year of dried flower currently undergoing specializations and
customization to meet EU-GMP standards.
- Strategic
Partnerships: Announced several strategic partnerships
including (i) an agreement with SLANG Worldwide (CSE: SLNG)
(“Slang”) announced on July 11, 2019 to license their extensive
portfolio of CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) products and leverage
Slang’s industry leading know-how and intellectual property to
process and formulate cannabis products in Colombia and Argentina,
(ii) a distribution agreement announced on February 14, 2019 with
El Manantial, a local medical center network and (iii) a European
distribution agreement announced on June 5, 2019.
- Approval of Cosmetic
Products: Finalized formulation, branding and packaging
for Blueberries approved CBD cosmetics line; pilot manufacturing
currently underway at production laboratory.
- Management
Enhancement: Added significant cannabis, pharmaceutical
and marketing expertise through key management hires including Dr.
Patricio Stocker (Chief Executive Officer), Mr. Eduardo Molinari
(Chief Marketing Officer) and Mr. Ian Atacan (Chief Financial
Officer).
Figure 1 – Cultivation at
Guatavita
Figure 2 – Propagation
Greenhouse
Figure 3 – Crops at
Guatavita
Upcoming 2019 Milestones
- Continued Expansion of
Cultivation Facilities: Additional open-air greenhouses
currently under construction to bring the Company’s total
cultivation area in Colombia to approximately 5 hectares (530,000
sq.ft.).
- Extraction
Facility: Continued enhancement and commissioning of
extraction/processing equipment for commercial rollout of extracted
oils and products.
- Argentina:
Commencement of the pilot project which includes the preparation
and cultivation of cannabis on a 107,000 sq.ft. (1 hectare) area on
public lands provided by state owned entity and JV partner Cannava.
- Cosmetic Products:
Commercial launch of Blueberries CBD cosmetics products in
Colombia.
- Further Expansion of
Distribution Network: Formalizing additional international
distribution relationships within Latin-America and globally to
bring Blueberries’ extracts, oils and other products to
market.
- Innovative
Products: Initial testing of cannabis-infused beer
formulations and development of other unique products.
“The progress made by the Blueberries team in
the short time since our public listing has been truly remarkable
and a great source of pride for everyone involved. We are quickly
and efficiently building out and scaling our facilities, putting
infrastructure in place to move into high-margin extracts and
products, and forging strategic relationships to leverage industry
expertise and bring our products to international markets,” stated
Dr. Patricio Stocker, Chief Executive Officer. “This is an exciting
time for the industry and our company as the market and regulations
to continue to evolve rapidly both in Latin America and globally.
We will continue to drive towards our future milestones with the
goal of generating significant value for our shareholders.”
For further information on the Company’s recent
developments please see the investor presentation
(www.blueberriesmed.com/investors/) and media
(www.blueberriesmed.com/photo-gallery/) on the Company’s
website.
Agricultural Operations
Blueberries currently has 1.4 hectares (150,000 sq.ft.) of open-air
greenhouses built and fully operational with construction of
additional greenhouses underway to increase the Company’s
cultivation footprint to approximately 5 hectares (~530,000 sq.ft.)
in Colombia by the end of 2019. By 2022, the Company intends to
further expand its cultivation footprint to approximately 48
hectares (~5.2 million sq.ft.) of cultivation capacity through
Company owned operations in Colombia and its joint venture
operations in Argentina. The company also intends to further
increase its cultivation capacity through leveraging local contract
growers in Colombia and additional available land in Argentina for
which negotiations are currently underway.
EU-GMP Processing and Extraction
FacilityInitial extraction line with capacity to process
up to 75,000 kg/year of dried flower is currently undergoing
specializations to meet EU-GMP standards. The company is also
advancing the process of commissioning an EU-GMP compliant1
facility in an ideal industrial area, with capacity to scale up its
extraction, processing and manufacturing capabilities.
Argentinian Pilot Project
Blueberries’ participation in the joint venture agreement with
Cannava (Cannabis Avatara S.E), a state-owned Argentinian Company,
was executed in July 2019. Under the agreement, Blueberries
gains rights to cannabis licenses in Argentina; one of very few
such agreements currently in place, to supply cannabis products to
the Argentinian population exceeding 44 million people. It also
expands the Company’s production footprint internationally and may
provide additional export opportunities to other countries with
evolving cannabis regulations. The first phase of the Joint Venture
will be a Pilot Cultivation Program (the “Pilot
Project”) consisting of the preparation and cultivation of
cannabis on a 107,000 sq.ft. (1 hectare) area on public lands
provided by Cannava with the goal of potentially producing 4
million grams (4,000 kg) of dry cannabis flower.
This Pilot Project will also evaluate and
characterize the genetics that are ideal for the climate conditions
of Jujuy province, and document the proposed operating procedures,
technical processes, strains and products that the joint venture is
seeking to produce. The Company is currently in the final stages of
preparing the proposed pilot cultivation program for Cannava’s
approval and processing of the applications for the permits with
the goal of completing the pilot cultivation program by May 2020.
Upon successful execution of the pilot cultivation program, the
parties expect to commence the commercial production phase of the
project.
Ongoing Business
Development
ColombiaBlueberries is
currently in advanced discussions with distributors possessing
existing relationships with leading Colombian end-product
wholesalers and retailers in appropriate health and wellness (and
related) verticals. Blueberries anticipates having the first pilot
batch of CBD products launched in Q3 2019.
The Company expects to confirm at least one such
relationship in Q3-2019 in parallel with certified production
facilities coming on-stream, with commencement of product
distribution and related revenues generated early 2020.
InternationalBlueberries and
SLANG Worldwide entered into a MOU to develop a strategic
partnership through which Blueberries may license SLANG’s extensive
portfolio of renowned cannabis brands and leverage SLANG’s industry
leading know-how and intellectual property to process and formulate
cannabis products in Colombia and Argentina.
Blueberries has also entered into an agreement
to become a strategic supplier of medical cannabis products to
Canurius UG for the sale and distribution of cannabis products in
Germany with the potential for expansion into Austria, Switzerland
and the Netherlands.
Blueberries is actively advancing discussions
regarding distribution agreements with major partners in target
markets in both Europe and South America, each of whom possesses
strong in-market relationships and capacities appropriate to market
needs. In these markets, relationships are focused on effective
market strategies of selling medicinal-grade cannabis extracts at
scale, through established distributors directly to end-product
manufacturers for market distribution. Blueberries expects to enter
into at least two additional relationships during 2019 with
commencement of product distribution and revenues by Q1-2020.
Strategic Additions to strengthen
Blueberries Executive Team
In the second quarter of 2019, Blueberries
management team was further strengthened with Mr. Eduardo Molinari
joining the company as Chief Marketing Officer and Mr. Ian Atacan
as Chief Financial Officer, in addition to its CEO, Dr. Patricio
Stocker.
In March, 2019, Blueberries reported a
significant addition to its team with the appointment of Dr.
Patricio Stocker as its CEO. Dr. Stocker is an accomplished
executive with extensive international experience, having served as
PharmaCielo’s (TSXV:PCLO) Chairman, Director and CEO from 2015 to
2018. During his tenure as PharmaCielo’s CEO, Dr. Stocker played a
key role in the development of corporate strategies, the formation
of strategic relationships, the cannabis licensing process, and
capital raising initiatives. At PharmaCielo, Dr. Stocker was
actively involved in the development of the company’s Colombian
operations and helped his team establish a scalable and competitive
cultivation and oil production strategy.
In April 2019, the Company announced the
appointment of Eduardo Molinari, a former executive of Abbott
Laboratories (ABT) and AbbVie Ltd. (ABBV) as its Chief Marketing
Officer. Mr. Molinari leads the development and implementation of
the company’s marketing strategies, directing these initiatives in
Argentina, Colombia and globally. Mr. Molinari has more than 25
years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held
executive leadership positions in countries across Latin America,
most recently VP Region North – Latin America of AbbVie until
December 2018. His business expertise is combined with deep
experience in R&D both in academia at Northwestern University
Medical School and in the pharmaceutical industry.
In June, 2019 Blueberries announced the
appointment of the new CFO, Mr. Ian D. Atacan, CPA, CMA, the former
CFO of Natura Naturals Inc. (acquired by Tilray, Inc. NASDAQ:
TLRY). Mr. Atacan has extensive experience in national and
international public companies, mainly in business strategy
development, valuations of M&A, debt and equity financing,
divestitures and investment transactions, financial modeling,
project management, competitive analysis and developing strategic
investment recommendations. Mr. Atacan was previously the CFO of
Global Atomic Corporation (formerly Silvermet Inc. TSX: GLO). Mr.
Atacan is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA), MBA
(London, UK) and Electrical & Electronics Engineer. Mr. Atacan
began his career working for Procter & Gamble.
About Blueberries Medical
Corp.
Blueberries is a Latin American licensed
producer of naturally grown premium quality cannabis with its
primary operations ideally located in the Bogotá Savannah of
central Colombia and operations currently being established in
Argentina. The Company is led by a specialized team with
proprietary expertise in agriculture, genetics, extraction,
medicine, pharmacology and marketing, Blueberries is fully licensed
for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and
international export of CBD and THC-based medical cannabis in
Colombia. Blueberries’ combination of leading scientific expertise,
agricultural advantages and distribution arrangements has
positioned the Company to become a leading international supplier
of naturally grown, processed, and standardized medicinal-grade
cannabis oil extracts and related products.
Additional information about the Company is
available at www.blueberriesmed.com. For more information, please
contact:
Camilo Villalba, Chief Operating Officer
cvillalba@blueberriesmed.comTel: +57 (313) 483 0131
Ian Atacan, Chief Financial
Officeriatacan@blueberriesmed.comTel: +1 (416) 562 3220
Jessika Angarita, Pacta Relations
angarita@pactarelations.comTel: +1 (305) 877 4710
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains
"forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements"
(collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of
the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements,
other than statements historical fact, are forward-looking
statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections
as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves
discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or
performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”,
or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not
anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”,
“estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words
and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results
“may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or
be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be
forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward looking
statements relate, among other things, to: closing of the proposed
transactions and achieving milestones in 2019 as contemplated, or
at all, ability to expand distribution networks, ability to expand
and upgrade the Company’s cultivation facilities in Colombia,
internal expectations, expectations regarding the ability of the
Company to access new Latin American and international markets, the
ability to attract and retain new customers, and future expansion
plans including development of the cultivation, production,
industrialization and marketing of cannabis for commercial and
scientific purposes.
These forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company
at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may
differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to
materially differ from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors, among other things, include: fluctuations
in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities
markets; expectations regarding the size of the Colombian and
international medical cannabis market and changing consumer habits;
the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business
objectives; plans for expansion; political and social
uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover
risks and hazards; and the presence of laws and regulations that
may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution
and sale of cannabis and cannabis related products in Colombia,
Argentina and elsewhere; and employee relations. Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based
upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the
time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure
shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such
forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that
cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements and information contained in this news release. The
Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors,
should they change, except as required by law.
Additional information regarding the Company,
and other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's
business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Listing Statement dated January 31, 2019 filed on its
issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
No stock exchange, securities commission or
other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the
information contained herein.
___________________________
1 https://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/eudralex/vol-4_en
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