Chatham, Ontario - October 18, 2018 - AgMedica Bioscience Inc. ("AGMEDICA" or the "Company"), a licensed producer of medicinal cannabis, is pleased to announce a strategic investment in, and exclusive licencing agreement with, Herbolea S.r.l. ("HERBOLEA") (the "Agreement"), a company focused on the development of Bio-Herbolysis™, a patent-pending, disruptive extraction technology. The unique Bio-Herbolysis™ extraction process does not utilize organic solvents or supercritical CO2, resulting in significantly lower capital and input costs, while maintaining the presence of volatile terpenes which give cannabis its characteristic flavour and aroma.
AGMEDICA and HERBOLEA plan to leverage the licensing agreement to deliver distinct and true full-spectrum extracts derived from fresh cannabis and hemp as well as traditional extracts from dried cannabis and hemp, to service the Canadian and German markets. The two companies will focus the expertise of their respective management and scientific teams, based in Canada and Italy, to accelerate the development of therapeutic products for human and veterinary use. This Agreement represents a significant milestone for AGMEDICA as part of the Company’s strategy to develop differentiated products that contribute to the continued evolution of the cannabis sector. It also significantly enhances HERBOLEA’s ongoing efforts to expand the global use of Bio-Herbolysis™. Not only does the Agreement afford the two companies an improved ability to develop unique products, it is also anticipated that utilizing the Bio-Herbolysis™ technology will enable AGMEDICA to capture significant savings in the extraction process and realize lower costs associated with capacity scaling and ongoing production flexibility.
Under the terms of the Agreement, AGMEDICA has agreed to purchase a 25% equity position in HERBOLEA. In addition, the Agreement grants AGMEDICA exclusive rights to utilize Bio-Herbolysis™ in the Canadian market, and a licence for the use of Bio-Herbolysis™ in the German market. AGMEDICA will implement the Bio-Herbolysis™ process in their Canadian operations for use in the extraction of cannabis and hemp, both for AGMEDICA’s own products, and to offer as a service to other licenced cannabis producers. The Agreement is anticipated to close in early December, 2018.
"We are very pleased with our strategic investment and licencing agreement with HERBOLEA, which provides AGMEDICA the opportunity to be first to market with a patented, disruptive and lower-cost extraction technology that can be used to develop a line of differentiated cannabis and hemp derived products." said Dr. Trevor Henry, CEO of AGMEDICA. "Investing directly in HERBOLEA creates clear alignment between our respective companies as we collaborate, while giving AGMEDICA direct exposure to their continued success and growth."
"We are delighted to have AGMEDICA providing a strategic investment to further validate the disruptive potential of Bio-Herbolysis™ in the production of true, full-spectrum cannabis extracts,” said Igino Angelini, CEO of HERBOLEA. "HERBOLEA is focused on expanding global adoption of this ground-breaking proprietary extraction technology that will deliver differentiated cannabis extracts to a market that is forecast to experience rapid expansion."
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. The Company’s established Riverview Cultivation Facility is located in Chatham, Ontario, and Phase I of our first innovative multi-tier cultivation facility is currently in production with a total annual capacity of 6,000 kg of medical-grade cannabis. Construction on Phase II of the Riverview Cultivation Facility is well under way, with completion and start-up expected in Q1 2019 which will bring total annual capacity up to 26,500 kg. www.agmedica.ca.