Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – August 25, 2021) – VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) (“VIVO” or the “Company“), a leading provider of premium cannabis products and services and holder of licenses under the Cannabis Act through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Canna Farms Limited (“Canna Farms”) and ABcann Medicinals Inc. (“ABcann Medicinals” or “ABcann”), today provides some additional information for its shareholders regarding the Company’s future strategic focus.
As reported earlier on July 5, 2021, the date of VIVO’s recent AGM, the Company elected a new slate of Board Directors and announced the appointment of Ray Laflamme as CEO and Chairman of the Board, and since that time VIVO’s Board and management have been actively reviewing its business strategy. The Board of Directors met to review management’s proposed strategy as well as to assess alternative options and is pleased to announce that it will be sharpening its focus to support its medical patient business and will maintain its focus on its retail business as it pertains to health and wellness. This approved strategic direction will be implemented immediately.
As shareholders are aware, the Company has many assets that position it as a strong player in the medical cannabis market currently, as detailed below. By developing these assets, the Company intends to establish itself as a global medical leader focused on enhancing the lives of its patients.
- Canna Farms and ABcann Medicinals
Since Canna Farms was established in 2013, as the first licensed producer in British Columbia, it has established deep roots in the medical cannabis community, and it is now a respected and recognized cannabis brand with thousands of positive patient outcomes. Today Canna Farms is one of the top 5 health and wellness brands in Canada.
Canna Farms and ABcann Medicinals together have more than fifteen years of experience supporting cannabis medical patients with a wide range of conditions and symptoms and together they have amassed a deep understanding of patient motivations.
Canna Farms has many thousands of clients who have tracked themselves and self-reported their outcomes using the Strainprint app on 73 different Canna Farms products in over 200,000 sessions. Due to being the first licensed producer partner with Strainprint, Canna Farms has the largest data set within the mobile app, and the efficacy of specific strains used for various conditions have been published in several independent academic peer-reviewed articles.
- EU-GMP Certification
It is with great pride that ABcann’s Vanluven facility recently received its EU-GMP certification and is now approved to produce, handle, store and package cannabis at globally-recognized EU-GMP standards. Beacon Medical’s German office has received its first import permit for product sales in Germany. EU-GMP certification places the Company ahead of its competitors and represents a necessary foundation for growth into Europe and other international markets.
- Harvest Medicine
The Company purchased its Harvest Medicine (“HMED”) operations in 2018 and since the acquisition has leveraged clinical insights from thousands of HMED patient interactions to research patient outcomes, to publish observational clinical studies, to educate and increase health care prescriber adoption, to improve market access, and to direct future product development within its medical channels. Harvest Medicine utilizes a virtual platform, “HMED Connect” and has recently added pharmacy consultations as a service for patients as part of their medical cannabis care offering.
- Patient Care Expertise
The Company has provided service in over 125,000 patient interactions. Canna Farms’ best-in-class, award-winning, Patient Care Team has been providing patient services since 2014 and has firsthand expertise in educational consultations, dosage guidance, product ordering, and long-term medication management. With patient-centricity at its core, the Company is committed to widening its product offerings and providing best-in-class support programs including Compassionate Care, Veterans, First Responders, so that all patients have access to affordable quality cannabis as medicine. - Australia, Germany and other International Markets
The Company currently has a strong medical brand established in Australia and leverages its Canadian knowledge base to accelerate product efficacy, cannabis experiences, and sales growth in that market. With the Company’s recent EU-GMP certification, it is now in a position to repeat its Australian success in Germany and other worldwide markets, all of which are exclusively medically focused. The Company’s products and brands are proven in Canada first, and then replicated in international markets, as regulations allow.
VIVO Path to Profitability and Leadership
The Company expects to achieve profitability by targeting the goals that have been obtained as feedback from its medical channel stakeholders including, most importantly, its patients; by reduction of operating expenses wherever possible; and by further integration of its legacy business units and operating systems.
“We have recognized our strengths and are committed to providing value to our patients and shareholders by leveraging those strengths. We will continue to work collaboratively with, and listening to the needs of all patients, health care professionals, payors and advocacy groups in both the domestic and international medical markets. With a renewed and enhanced focus on our core values in the medical channels, we re-commit to helping people as our top priority.” commented Ray Laflamme, Chief Executive Officer of VIVO Cannabis.
“Canna Farms started as a patient-first company from the beginning. This is a natural progression to re-focus our efforts given the success we have had during the last 6 years.”
The Company will continue to maintain recreational sales on core products in order to support health and wellness consumers who purchase across these channels.
Mr. Laflamme is the passionate co-founder of Canna Farms Limited, a very successful and established provider of premium craft medical cannabis products and services. He is also the Company’s largest shareholder with interests very much aligned to those of all of VIVO’s shareholders. Mr. Laflamme brings to VIVO a successful track record of focusing on customer satisfaction, quality products, and affordability as the route to revenue and profitability.
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO Cannabis™ is recognized for trusted, premium cannabis products and services. It holds cultivation, processing and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor and seasonal cultivation facilities. VIVO has a collection of premium brands, each targeting different customer segments, including Canna Farms™, Beacon Medical™, Fireside™, and Lumina™. Harvest Medicine™, VIVO’s client-centric, scalable network of medical cannabis clinics, has serviced over 150,000 patient visits. VIVO is pursuing several partnership and product development opportunities and is focusing its international efforts on Germany and Australia. For more information visit: www.vivocannabis.com.
For further information:
VIVO Investor Relations
+1 416-848-9839
[email protected]
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vivo-cannabis-inc/
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, which are statements that are not purely historical, including statements regarding the beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions of VIVO and its management regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the change in Company focus, future strategy, focus on medical patient business, implementation of the new strategy, international expansion, Harvest Medical’s offerings, expanding patient care product offerings, achieving profitability, reduction of operating expenses, integration of operating systems. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward‐looking statements, including that the medical cannabis market may not grow to the extent, within the time, or for the reasons expected by the Company; that the COVID‐19 pandemic may last longer and have a more significant impact on the Company’s operations, the Canadian cannabis industry, or the global economy generally, than currently expected; that the Company faces competition against new market entrants and participants; that the Company may not be able to launch new products in the time expected or at all and that patients may not receive the expected benefits therefrom; that the Company may not be able to achieve competitive margins; that new products, if launched, may not be accepted by the market or may become subject to product liability claims; that the Company may not be able to obtain necessary licences; that demand for the Company’s products may not meet management’s expectations; that the Company may be unable to retain its key talent; that the Company may not be able to execute on its strategic partnerships; that the Company may not obtain any other necessary regulatory approvals as required from time to time; that the Company may be unable to protect its intellectual property; and other factors beyond the Company’s control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward‐looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully along with the more extensive risk factors included in the Company’s most recent management’s discussion and analysis available on SEDAR, in evaluating the forward‐looking statements contained in this news release, and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward‐looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward‐looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such forward‐looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/94330