NAPANEE, Ontario, Oct. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO, OTCQB: VVCIF) (“VIVO” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Harvest Medicine Inc. (“Harvest Medicine” or “HMED”), has completed the acquisition of Trauma Healing Centres (“THC”) from Organigram Holdings Inc..
THC is a multi-disciplinary clinic network that has been providing medical cannabis care and education to thousands of patients in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario since 2014. THC specializes in patient assessment and medical cannabis prescribing and also offers patients individualized, multi-disciplinary wellness plans.
Both THC and Harvest Medicine share a deeply ingrained patient-centric approach to care. The transition of THC to Harvest Medicine offers THC the opportunity to flourish under an experienced medical management team, wholly committed to the day-to-day operation of exceptional medical cannabis clinics.
“We are pleased to see two excellent organizations join forces to offer Canadian medical cannabis patients access to outstanding care,” says Greg Engel, CEO, Organigram. “We are proud of our relationship with THC and look forward to seeing the outstanding team at Harvest take the delivery of care to the next level.”
“THC’s reputation with the veteran community as a trusted resource and partner, and its commitment to providing exceptional patient care make it an excellent fit with Harvest Medicine,” stated Shekhar Parmar, President of HMED. “This acquisition accelerates our national expansion plans and we look forward to building on THC’s success in these markets and continuing to ensure patients have improved access to our best-in-class services.”
The transaction will see HMED acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of THC from Organigram. The total purchase price for the shares will be $1,200,000, to be satisfied by the issuance of common shares in the capital of VIVO at a price per share equal to the ten trading day volume weighted average price immediately prior to the closing of the transaction.
With this acquisition HMED will add locations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario to its existing network of medical cannabis clinics in Edmonton and Calgary. The transaction will also add another 4,500 patients to HMED’s existing patient base, bringing the total number of active HMED patients to above 22,000.
“Our physical locations and our soon to be released telemedicine platform, HMED Connect, complement each other to ensure enhanced seamless service, flexibility and greater scalability for HMED and its patients” said Mr. Parmar. “Our vision is to transform the medical cannabis experience for patients and physicians and be recognized as the trusted leader in medical cannabis care across the country.”
About Trauma Healing Centers
Trauma Healing Centers is a resource center for anyone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, chronic pain, cancer treatment or other disabling illness including veterans, RCMP, first responders and civilians. Our team of dedicated professionals will work with patients on an individual basis to provide a wellness plan to enhance their quality of life.
About Harvest Medicine
Harvest Medicine (“HMED”, www.hmed.ca) is an education focused, patient-centric, network of specialty medical cannabis clinics where patients receive best in class education, care, advice and follow-up support as they approach cannabinoid-based medicine.
Growing to over 15,000 active patients in under 18 months, HMED is one of Canada’s most successful and fastest growing cannabis clinic networks. With the imminent launch of HMED Connect, a free telemedicine app and service, and the acquisition of Trauma Healing Centres, HMED is focused on aggressively expanding its effective and highly scalable model across the country.
About Organigram Holdings Inc.
Organigram Holdings Inc. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Organigram Inc., is a licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in Canada.
Organigram is focused on producing the highest-quality, indoor-grown cannabis for patients and adult recreational consumers in Canada, as well as developing international business partnerships to extend the company’s global footprint. In anticipation of the legal adult use recreational cannabis in Canada, Organigram has developed a portfolio of brands including The Edison Cannabis Company, Ankr Organics and Trailer Park Buds. Organigram’s primary facility is located in Moncton, New Brunswick and the Company is regulated by the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”).
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO, based in Napanee, Ontario, is recognized for trusted, high-quality products and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor cultivation facilities with proprietary plant-growing technology. VIVO has a collection of premium brands targeting unique customer segments, including Beacon Medical™, FIRESIDE™, Canna Farms™ and Lumina™. In August 2018, VIVO acquired Canna Farms Limited, a premium cannabis company based in Hope, British Columbia. Canna Farms was B.C.’s first Licensed Producer and has several years of craft cultivation experience and expertise, as well as a significant patient base and positive cash flow. The Company is significantly expanding its production capacity and pursuing partnership and product development opportunities domestically, as well as in select international markets, including Germany and Australia. VIVO also operates Harvest Medicine, a patient-centric and highly scalable network of specialty medical cannabis clinics as well as a soon to be released free telemedicine app. VIVO has a healthy balance sheet with approximately $100 million in cash and is well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our business, in Canada and internationally.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the financial performance, reputation and impact of acquiring Trauma Healing Centres, as well as the successful launch of HMED Connect, the potential benefits to patients of using these services, and the potential benefit to HMED of acquiring these additional clinics. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on certain assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from current assumptions and expectations, including that the acquired locations will continue to be viable business operations, patients may not find the services helpful and regulations around medical cannabis education and use may change. These forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements, including that there may be regulatory impediments to the success of medical cannabis clinics and HMED Connect; and that there may be operational and technical challenges integrating Trauma Health Centres processes with Harvest Medicine and HMED Connect. A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company appears in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other continuous disclosure filings, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events, or for any other reason, other than as required by applicable securities laws.