NAPANEE, ON, July 6, 2020 /CNW/ - 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"), ABcann Medicinals Inc. ("ABcann") and Harvest
Medicine Inc. ("Harvest Medicine"), is pleased to
provide an update on its global medical
business, which operates in Canada, Germany and Australia.
"One of our top strategic priorities is to focus
on the global medical
cannabis market, directly servicing tens of thousands of
patients and investing in product development
initiatives that
prioritize high-quality novel products," said
Barry Fishman, CEO of
VIVO. "We've recently made significant progress on a
number of key initiatives, which will help solidify our market
presence as a company that is committed to delivering solutions for
patients and healthcare professionals on an international
scale."
VIVO believes that significant growth in medical cannabis
utilization will be driven by several factors including:
1. Accelerating legalization of medicinal cannabis globally
2. Mounting real-world and clinical evidence of therapeutic
benefits
3. Increasing clinician adoption of medical cannabis as a viable
therapeutic option
4. Growing reimbursement by governments and third-party payors
5. Improving patient and healthcare practitioner awareness,
education and access
6. Introducing new medical-grade, precise-dosed, stable
formulations
7. Removing the sales tax on medical cannabis in Canada
The Company is pleased to announce several initiatives that
advance the Company's impact within the global medical cannabis
market.
Shoppers Drug Mart Partnership
VIVO has entered into both a product supply agreement and a
clinic services agreement with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers™.
As previously announced, VIVO's two licensed producers will offer a
broad portfolio of Canna Farms™ and Beacon Medical™ branded medical
cannabis products through the Medical Cannabis by Shoppers™ online
sales platform, including its latest Cannabis 2.0 offerings such as
chocolates and extracts making these products accessible to Medical
Cannabis by Shoppers™ patients across Canada.
Under the terms of the clinic services agreement, VIVO's
subsidiary, Harvest Medicine, will provide cannabis education
services to patients who are appropriate candidates for
cannabinoid-based products available from Medical Cannabis by
Shoppers™ and provide consulting services to its Cannabis Care
team.
Launch of Beacon Medical Oils in Australia
VIVO's subsidiary, Beacon Medical Australia, has entered into a
supply agreement with MediPharm Labs Australia to purchase
pharmaceutical quality (GMP certified) cannabis oils for the
Australian market.
As previously announced, under the agreement MediPharm Labs
Australia will supply its full range of GMP-certified, formulated
CBD and THC cannabis oils to Beacon Medical Australia for further
distribution under the Beacon Medical branding. The addition
of cannabis oils to Beacon's Australian portfolio is an important
step towards capturing market share in Australia's growing medical cannabis
market.
Veterans House Partnership
VIVO has entered into a collaboration agreement with Veterans
House ("Veterans House"), under which the Company will
provide sponsorship and support to joint programs for Canadian
Armed Forces veterans. Veterans House is a federally
registered non-profit organization that provides veterans suffering
from mental illness and operational stress injuries such as
post-traumatic stress disorder, with access to counseling and peer
support programs.
"Canna Farms is a long-standing supporter of veterans, providing
access to leading medical cannabis products and programs," said
Fabian Henry, Senior Director of
Operations at Veterans House. "The team at VIVO has shown an
ongoing commitment to Canadian veterans and we look forward to
working more closely together to serve this community."
"We are proud to be associated with Veterans House," said Mr.
Fishman. "Our veterans have dedicated their lives to defending the
rights and freedoms we have in Canada. We are honoured to play an important
role in enhancing the quality of life for our veterans."
Medical Product Line Expansion
VIVO is pleased to introduce softgel capsules, with several
cannabinoid concentrations available, through its Canna Farms
on-line medical marketplace in the coming weeks. Softgel capsules
provide patients with a convenient format to ingest cannabis in a
precisely dosed format.
The introduction of softgels follows the successful launch of
VIVO's Cannabis 2.0 product offerings (including chocolates and
extracts) into the Canadian medical market, increasing choice for
the Company's more than 20,000 registered patients.
The Canna Farms store now carries six leading medical
brands including GTEC, Aqualitis and
Pure Sunfarms. "Our web-based medical store continues to be a
key point of connection for Canadian patients to conveniently
access medical cannabis products," said Daniel Laflamme, President of Canna Farms.
"Having a consistent supply of medical products has been an
industry-wide concern and we continue to enhance our manufacturing
processes and relationships with other established high-quality LP
partners, to supply our medical patients with a wide range of
product options."
Product Development Progress
VIVO moved into the next stage of product innovation with
partner Pharmascience Inc., a global pharmaceutical
company based in Montreal, for the
development of a line of specific medical cannabis formulations
produced under pharmaceutical quality standards intended to
maximize the benefit to patients.
"Healthcare professionals and patients are increasingly
searching for precisely-controlled, high-quality, standardized
dosage forms of medical cannabis. VIVO has invested in several
product development projects with proven partners experienced in
formulating complex medical products," stated Mr. Fishman.
EU-GMP Follow-up Audit Completed
A follow-up EU-GMP audit was recently completed at VIVO's ABcann
Medicinal facility in Napanee.
This is an important step towards EU GMP-certification and is a
requirement to export medical cannabis products from Canada for sale in Germany and other European countries.
Real-World Evidence Collaboration
The Company entered into a partnership with privately held
Reformulary Group, an innovative healthcare company dedicated to
helping Canadians make sense of medicine (prescription drugs and
medical cannabis). VIVO has agreed to provide clinical support,
through the Company's Harvest Medicine clinics, to patients who
access Reformulary Group's Cannabis Standard™ platform. Cannabis
Standard is an ecosystem of expert recommendations, patient-powered
tools, and independent information to help Canadians and healthcare
professionals make smarter, more informed decisions about choosing
medical cannabis.
"Cannabis Standard™ applies the same formula that we've used so
successfully on the prescription medication side. We gathered a
panel of independent medical experts, conducted a comprehensive
review all of the available evidence globally, and created
user-friendly tools to help Canadians navigate the medical cannabis
space," said Helen Stevenson,
Reformulary Group founder and CEO. "At its core, Cannabis Standard™
is about helping patients benefit from and contribute to the
growing base of medical cannabis research, and we look forward to
working closely with the team at VIVO to advance patient
outcomes."
VIVO has also engaged Strainprint Technologies™, a leader in
cannabis data and analytics, to examine real-world evidence of its
products, linking utilization and efficacy for several of the
leading indications treated with medical cannabis from thousands of
patients. This evidence is being used by healthcare professionals
to assist in determining optimal treatment options and by patients
to help navigate their medical cannabis journey. VIVO is the first
Canadian LP to provide this valuable information on its products to
key stakeholders.
Patient Support Under COVID-19
Health Canada recently
announced that due to COVID-19, it is temporarily extending
the expiry date of registrations by six months for patients who are
having difficulty accessing their health care prescriber to obtain
a new medical document.
Since Harvest Medicine temporarily moved its entire clinic
operations to telemedicine in late Q1 2020, the feedback from
patients and prescribing clinicians adapting to virtual visits has
been overwhelmingly positive.
"Not only has there been no lapse in ongoing care for our
patients during COVID-19, but our dedicated team was able to scale
up to meet increased patient demand for visits on our HMED
Connect mobile application platform which have more than
tripled during the pandemic," stated Carole
Chan, President of Harvest Medicine. "We understand the
importance of in-person consultations for certain patient
populations, and we will continue to offer this option when clinics
re-open in the near future with enhanced protocols to keep patients
and staff safe."
VIVO is confident that it will benefit from Health Canada's
recent announcement and Harvest Medicine's ability to continue to
provide high-quality patient services during COVID-19.
Product Identification Enhancement
VIVO, through its global Beacon Medical™ brand has simplified
its consumer-facing product naming conventions and added Product
Identification Numbers (PINs) to its core Canadian offering to
better support doctors, pharmacists and patients in navigating
medical cannabis. "Introducing PINs will enable Canadian insurers
to more easily navigate our products," commented Matt Patterson, Vice President of Medical
Strategy.
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO Cannabis™ is recognized for trusted, premium cannabis
products and services. It holds production and sales licences from
Health Canada and operates world-class indoor and seasonal airhouse
cultivation facilities with proprietary plant-growing technology in
Hope, British Columbia and
Napanee, Ontario. VIVO has a
collection of premium brands, each targeting different customer
segments, including Canna Farms™, Beacon Medical™, Fireside™,
Fireside-X™, Lumina™ and Canadian Bud
Collection™. The Company is expanding its production
capabilities and distribution network. Harvest Medicine™, VIVO's
patient-centric, scalable network of medical cannabis clinics, has
serviced over 100,000 patient visits. VIVO is pursuing several
partnership and product development opportunities and is focusing
its international efforts on Germany and Australia. The Company has a healthy balance
sheet and is well-positioned to accelerate its path to
profitability. For more information visit: www.vivocannabis.com
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: that the Company's activities to date are expected to
help solidify its market presence in the medical cannabis space;
the factors that VIVO believes will drive significant growth in
medical cannabis utilization; the expected timing of launch of
softgel capsules; that the products generated from the Company's
partnership with Pharmascience Inc. are intended to maximize
therapeutic benefit to patients; and the expected re-opening of the
Harvest Medicine clinics in the near future. 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 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
timing of EU-GMP certification may be delayed, due to travel
restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; 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, and the more
extensive risk factors included in the Company's management's
discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2020, which is available on SEDAR,
carefully 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.
SOURCE VIVO Cannabis Inc.