SASKATOON, Saskatchewan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: CMED) (“CanniMed” or the “Company”) announced today that its directors have approved the commencement of a capital project to increase its current cannabinoid oils processing capacity by constructing a new facility on the Company’s Saskatchewan campus.
The planned Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant ethanol extraction facility will have the initial capacity to supply the equivalent of 12 million 60 ml bottles of CanniMed® Oil per year, once complete. The initial cost estimate for the facility is $10.5 million over a twenty-month schedule to commissioning.
“Saskatchewan’s heritage of pioneering and innovation in Canadian healthcare has helped lead to the creation of cornerstones such as the advent of cobalt therapy in cancer treatment,” said Premier Brad Wall. “CanniMed is now part of the ongoing legacy that embodies this spirit of creative thinking and diversification so inherent in our province. We welcome this kind of significant investment in Saskatchewan.”
The project is estimated to employ 85 full-time employees during the construction phase and will create 25 new permanent full-time positions. Scheduling and costs will be further refined during the detailed design phase of the project. The facility has been designed to accommodate further modular increases in capacity in up to three subsequent phases, ensuring product development milestones will continue to be met over the long-term.
“The Company’s greatest growth driver is currently our CanniMed® Oils products, contributing to 46% of our overall sales during March 2017,” said Brent Zettl, President and CEO of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. “The expansion of our oils processing capacity will ensure ample supply of cannabinoid-based raw materials for future product development and innovation, in addition to providing for the continued growth of currently marketed oil products, and our soon-to-be released gelcaps.”
CanniMed uses ethanol (food-grade alcohol) extraction for the purification of cannabinoids. This industry-leading process pumps ethanol through compressed cannabis flower material, extracting the THCA (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabiolic acid), CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) and other medicinal ingredients. The alcohol and excess water are then removed through evaporation, resulting in a pure cannabis resin that can be further developed into a number of products for patient consumption. The Company plans to recycle and reuse the ethanol employed in the process.
About CanniMed Therapeutics Inc.
The Company is a Canadian-based, international plant biopharmaceutical company and a leader in the Canadian medical cannabis industry, with 15 years of pharmaceutical cannabis cultivation experience, state-of-the-art, GMP-compliant production process and world class research and development platforms with a wide range of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products. In addition, the Company has an active plant biotechnology research and product development program focused on the production of plant-based materials for pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental applications.
CanniMed Ltd., through its subsidiaries, was the first producer to be licensed under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, the predecessor to the current Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. It was the sole supplier to Health Canada under the former medical marijuana system for 13 years, and has been producing safe and consistent medical marijuana for thousands of Canadian patients, with no incident of product diversion or recalls.
Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding the timing for, cost of and production from the cannabinoid oil processing facility, the release of gelcaps, assumptions and expectations or beliefs of future performance, are “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including the risk of delays in the construction of the new facility, cost overruns, production delays for the facility, delays in the release of gelcaps, the risks described in CanniMed Therapeutics Inc.’s documents filed with applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities which may be viewed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. does not undertake to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities legislation.
