CHATHAM, ON, March 5, 2019 /CNW/ - AgMedica Bioscience Inc. ("AgMedica" or the "Company"), a licensed producer of medicinal cannabis, is pleased to announce the closing of its strategic investment in Herbolea Biotech S.r.l. ("Herbolea Biotech") (the "Investment"), previously announced on October 18, 2018. Herbolea Biotech is an Italian company focused on the development of Bio-Herbolysis™, a patent-pending, disruptive extraction technology. The Bio-Herbolysis™ process delivers a high-quality, solvent-less extraction, with a simple one step process that is industrially proven at over 300 kg/hour, yielding over 90% efficiency, and with significant operational and investment savings; the ability to directly input wet material and its low temperature process, results in a true full spectrum extract, maintaining the presence of volatile terpenes which give cannabis its characteristic flavour and aroma, as well as the potential to easily provide cannabinoids in their original acidic form.
With closing of the Investment, AgMedica now holds a 25% equity position in Herbolea and will be appointing one member to join Herbolea's board of directors. In concert with the Investment, the Company secured exclusive rights to utilize Bio-Herbolysis™ in the Canadian market and secured a licence for the use of Bio-Herbolysis™ in the German market (the "License Agreement"). The Bio-Herbolysis™ process is already being implemented through an initial installation of equipment capable of processing up to 15 kg/hour on a continuous basis, in AgMedica's Canadian operations in Q1 2019, for use in the extraction of cannabis and hemp for AgMedica's own products and potentially to meet the needs of other licenced cannabis producers. Plans also include the implementation of larger scale continuous processing equipment in 2019.
With both the Investment and the License Agreement, AgMedica and Herbolea benefit from improved access to capital, which will be instrumental for accelerating entry into several new key markets, and to propel future potential revenue growth.
"Our investment in Herbolea and securing the License Agreement represent significant milestones for AgMedica," said Dr. Trevor Henry, CEO of AgMedica. "AgMedica will deploy the licensed technology to more aggressively pursue entry into new global markets and continue developing differentiated products that will contribute to the evolution of the cannabis sector. In addition to delivering a unique true full spectrum product, we expect AgMedica to achieve a significant cost advantage over CO2 or ethanol."
"We are thrilled to have AgMedica as our new strategic partner to further advance the disruptive potential of Bio-Herbolysis™ in the production of true, full-spectrum cannabis extracts," said Igino Angelini, CEO of Herbolea Biotech. "Our focus on expanding global adoption of this ground-breaking technology, as well as building a full suite of flexible and integrated Cannabinoids extraction solutions, will be rapidly accelerated by this strategic Investment, the License Agreement and our ongoing collaboration."
About AgMedica Bioscience Inc.
As a licensed producer of medicinal cannabis, AgMedica is dedicated to becoming a global leader in the development and commercialization of cannabis and cannabis-derived products to support the health and wellness of our clients. We aspire to drive the evolution of the cannabis industry by focussing investment on the development and commercialization of differentiated products in the medicinal, health & wellness and pharmaceutical sectors. For further information, please visit our website at www.agmedica.ca.