Organigram Provides Shareholder Update
OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (ACB:CSE) has provided an update to shareholders while reviewing milestones of 2014 and looking at the growth and goals of 2015.
Since the inception of OrganiGram in April, 2014, the company has been growing and developing at a very fast pace. Through this growth, there have been some tremendous achievements, which include receiving its organic certification, producing its first crops, listing of shares on the TSX Venture Exchange and completing three phases of construction. OrganiGram is excited to capitalize on these achievements and execute on the business plan.
Moving forward, the company’s shareholders, patients and partners will begin to see the results from the foundation laid in 2014. To date, the company has been extremely focused on expanding the production facility while, at the same time, working to increase production levels. These efforts will begin to provide significant product to the market in March of this year. Thereafter, the utilization of the company’s existing rooms and rooms under construction will ensure that OrganiGram is poised to meet its financial goals in 2015.
OrganiGram would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Trauma Healing Centers on the opening of its first clinic, in Halifax, N.S. OrganiGram is proud to be partnered with Trauma Healing Centers on research initiatives to assist veterans and others suffering with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
OrganiGram’s chief executive officer, Denis Arsenault, states: “Over the past few months, OrganiGram has moved into a best-in-class manufacturing facility. Our processes and systems have been developed to a point where we produce high-quality products, in an organic form, which has and will continue to exceed the requirements of our clients. While we continue to evolve and improve, our facility will begin to supply the market with an established source of product on a consistent basis. We have a superior management team in place that is not only focused on supply but also quality, efficiency and product development. The results of our efforts will not only be very profitable for the company and shareholders but most importantly will provide a rapidly increasing client base with a medicinal product that assists in a much-improved quality of life for many. The developments of the next few weeks and months will be both exciting and fruitful for our company.”
We seek Safe Harbor.
- Published in Blog
Organigram ( OGI:V) – Why You Should be Looking at Them Now.
Chris Parry has become one of the forefront speakers on the Medical Marijuana space in Canada, covering many of the rise and falls of this space. Recently through his MMPRInvestments, They released a free report covering Organigram (OGI:V).
Chris points out probably the most important aspect when considering which company to get involved with – Organigram’s deal with the Trauma Healing Centers. In the Canadian MM industry, they are the only company currently with a deal that will cater to individuals who have government backed health insurance. This coupled with its organic certification, easy scale capacity and bilingual nature ( Quebec monopoly in the making..?), makes OGI one of the top MM producers. And don’t forget, MM has show great promise for victims of PTSD.
Let that sink in for a second, then go read the full report here
- Published in Blog
The MMPR Investments Report: Organigram (OGI:V)
The medical marijuana space in Canada has been crazy for the last year.
From the sudden emergence of a corporate medicinal cannabis supply system to court cases allowing formerly registered users to continue growing their own product, to the crazy profligation of unregulated dispensaries in Vancouver while other cities shut them down as soon as they appear, the mining-to-marijuana rush, the crazy share price spikes and crashes, the suited brokers shoving through barbed wire fences to do deals with motorcycle club employees, the boardrooms with baggies of samples being passed around… nobody could have foreseen the madness.
But out of madness, eventually, comes sanity. And the Canadian weedspace right now is verging on the sane.
Gone are many of the early share price rockets. Companies like Green and Hill, and Growlife, and Enertopia, and Creative Edge Nutrition, which had market caps as high as when they launched, now scrape bottom. The ticker symbol plays like BUD and THC are nowhere to be seen. And investors that, formerly, played all day, bouncing their cash from play to play depending on what was being promoted, are now butthurt, poorer, and looking for where to go next.
That’s the bottom end.
At the top, some serious wheels are turning. I’ve looked deep into the soul of many of these companies and I like what I see. Canadian medical marijuana is a mess of bureaucratic regulations, to be sure, but that torturous process has effectively allowed the market to be filtered through a sieve that has left only the high quality, the well-funded, the professionally run and the well supported companies standing.
Companies like Bedrocan, the Canadian subsidiary of a Dutch parent that has the monopoly on European medical marijuana and has earned $1m in revenue just reselling imported product from its parent. And Tweed, which two licensed facilities and a big war chest, the first mover in the market that stands tall on its effective marketing campaign and US investor base penetration. And Mettrum, a new player that keeps it cards close to its chest while it quietly connects registered patients to its product. And Supreme, which is marching towards its license with a plan to grow medical marijuana in a massive Ontario based facility, and sell it on the cheap to feed the low end of the market.
These are all fine companies. There are others, earlier in their licensing process, that may add to the roster. But there’s one that, right now, to me, has demonstrated it stands tall.
That company is Organigram.
You’ll find it in the Canadian markets under the ticker V.OGI. In the US, it’s OGRMF.
Why do I like this company? How much do I like this company?
Let’s get into that.
Organigram is not selling more weed than anyone else. It’s not got more name recognition than anyone else. It’s not sitting on a billion square feet of growing space. But it has something REALLY important in Canada, and North America proper.
It has a deal.
That deal is with Trauma Healing Centres (or THC), a group that is opening a series of clinics across Canada aimed at treating people with post-traumatic stress disorder. That means, largely, military veterans and first responders.
The deal promises to bring Organigram as much as $22m over the first two years, and to expand outward from that. But while that’s nice, it’s not the most important thing.
The deal also promises to give Organigram a bankable off-take arrangement upon which it can plan ahead. Instead of fighting for every patient, the THC group will bring the patients to them. But that’s not the most important thing.
The deal will embrace Organigram’s certified organic product (something no other company has), and will take advantage of the company’s truly bilingual structure (something, again, no other company has, and which gifts the company Quebec as a virtual monopoly).But, again, not the most important thing.
The important thing is veterans in Canada have government-backed health insurance, and medical marijuana is an accepted treatment for PTSD.
This means Organigram has a deal that, as a first in North America, will be insurance-backed, to serve a large segment of the population exclusively.
Anxiety disorders, or which PTSD is one of the largest segments, cost the US health system $42.3 billion annually, according to the Sidran Institute. Around half of that is spent on drugs, and those drugs are significantly more expensive – and less effective – and have more side effects – than medicinal cannabis.
Currently, Health Canada puts the potential market for medical marijuana at $1.3b per year in 2022. So if Organigram can be the go-to place for Canadian veterans and first responders to turn to for their PTSD relief, the market radically dwarfs the expected registered medical marijuana user for all other ailments.
This won’t happen tomorrow. It won’t happen next month. But when it happens, when the healing centres open and the veterans groups, which are behind THC, start moving their brothers into that system, Organigram won’t have time to scratch itself for all the business it’ll be handling.
And that’s why the company, right now, is working feverishly to expand. All the money it has raised in previous months, all of it is going to expansion of its present facility – something it can do because it just purchased the building next door and worked with the municipality to merge the two properties into one address. No need for a new MMPR!
I own Organigram stock. I’m not selling. I’m going to have to make that disclosure every time I write about this company for a long time to come because I have no plans to cash in my stake. I’m waiting for dividends, and I’m very happy in my belief dividends will one day flow hard.
There are several great investment options in medical marijuana in Canada. You should seriously consider them and invest where you think your money will be safest and most productive.
For me, that’s Organigram. V.OGI. Get in.
Written by: Chris Parry
NOTE: The author of this report has been paid for its production and dissemination and owns Organigram stock. Please do your own due diligence before making any investment and speak to a licensed professional for investment advice.
- Published in Blog
Organigram (V.OGI) and the Massive Deal Everyone Missed
Right?
Organigram (TSX:V.OGI, Stock Forum) essentially secured an LOI for an off-take deal with a chain of ‘healing centres’ that would see them moving up to 4500 kilograms of medical marijuana through 2016, with a 20{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} increase each year beyond that for ten years, for use in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by veterans, the military, and first-responders.
The math on this is simple: Organigram, even if they sell at a conservative $5 per gram, could sell 3 million grams just in 2016 alone, for $15m in revenue.
In 2015? $7.5 million.
This on top of its ongoing business.
Make no mistake, this is a big deal for two reasons.
- It locks in the first seven-digit revenue agreement in Canadian medical marijuana history, at a time when other companies are struggling to do six figures per quarter across the board.
- I’m led to believe this is an INSURANCE BACKED deal. That is, the healing centres are going to be treating the ill with medical marijuana and processing the costs through the patient’s federal insurance.That second point is potentially massive. It locks in ongoing revenues, allows patients to get access to plenty of medicine, and mainstreams the treatment to a point where insurance companies can become quickly conditioned to green-lighting medical marijuana for other conditions.
When insurance becomes part of the MMJ landscape, the profit party begins.
In addition, by moving into this space, Organigram can begin looking south, at a market where PTSD is so prevalent that a large segment of the population is either affected by it, or is close to someone who is.
Also part of the deal: THC will conduct research on medical marijuana and PTSD going forward to help mainstream the treatment.
Organigram, with this deal, graduates, leads and delivers on its promise.
Every other marijuana company out there is looking to grow their patient list, and Organigram just grew theirs by potentially thousands.
Trauma Healing Centers will open 13 centers across Canada as part of their phase one rollout. The first four centers will be in Edmonton, Ottawa, Quebec and the Halifax Region in January, with nine more opening across Canada by June 2015.
Why not open in Vancouver? Because Vancouver has a dispensary on every corner right now, most of which are moving gang-grown product and staffed by guys with neck tattoos and Affliction t-shirts. I’m told there’ll be city wide push to close most of those down in the New Year, which will open the market for real companies that have background checks and follow Health Canada rules to emerge. Good for patients, good for LPs.
I know other companies were talking to Trauma (AKA: THC – did you miss that?) about doing a deal, but Organigram CEO Denis Arsenault told me last week, “They were just treating it like a business opportunity. This is veterans. This is important. We’re going to make money on the deal but we’re not turning the screws, we want the product out there and there’s no greater need than those who’ve served and have PTSD coming home. So we’re working closely with Trauma and we couldn’t be prouder to have got their okay. Every one of us at Organigram considers it an honour to be able to help.”
Not a bad lead-in to Remembrance Day but, oddly, the market pretty much missed the significance of the news.
Organigram stock has been pushing in the green direction for a week or so but, to me, this deal is a company maker. It’s the first nuggets of the gold rush. Yet, the market barely nudged.
Why was that? Well, it’s what wasn’t in the press release: Dollar signs. We don’t know what margin OGI will make on the deal because we don’t have an agreed upon price. In addition, you always have to beware of the words ‘up to’ in any press release.
Organigram’s agreement binds it to supplying ‘up to’ 4500 kilograms through 2016. If THC fails to open its centres, or fails to attracts patients, that ‘up to’ figure could be zero.
Arsenault is convinced that’s not likely. “They’re already hiring, those centres are opening up.”
A casual search would indicate he’s right: Trauma Healing Centres are indeed hiring in Edmonton right now, though there’s no website yet (that I can find anyway). Still, nobody’s taking 3000 kilos of weed for a while yet.
There will be more deals like this, and each one from this point should be fiercely battled for by every licensed producer out there because forging one customer relationship at a time is a fool’s errand. Having reams of new patients handed to you every week is where it’s at.
When I talked to Arsenault, I asked him if this was the tip of the iceberg. He didn’t answer directly, but let’s just say, if you ever get a chance to play poker against him, take that chance.
His poker face is crap.
“We all know it’s going to go recreational legal,” says Arsenault. “When the dust settles, the people with the best product are going to capture a big part of the market.”
Aside from this deal, Organigram’s differentiators are its bilingualism (good for a hard push through the Quebec market, and nearly 30{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of the country’s population), and it has certified organic status, which no other company can boast. The organic thing could be a big help in getting access to doctors. Other producers claim they’re organic too because Health Canada says no pesticides can be used, but certification matters.
The stock, right now, is undervalued, as are almost all the LPs out there (the exception being Mettrum which has held well from its RTO), and a couple that appear to be near term MMPR candidates; Matica (CSE:C.GRF, Stock forum) and Supreme (CSE:C.SL, Stock Forum), for example.
The Canadian weedco marketplace is starting to become a place where real companies do business and, for mine, the rising tide of Organigram just lifted all boats.
Full disclosure: I invested in the last Organigram financing and still hold that investment. They’re also a Stockhouse marketing client, and I’ve also consulted with them on marketing strategy, so it’s safe to say I like OGI. You should be aware of that and take it into consideration before you make any purchasing decision based on this story, but you should also understand those three things happened because I believe the company is doing all the right things.
Read more at CEO.CA: Licensed organic grower vies for Canada’s pot prize.
–Chris Parry
http://www.twitter.com/chrisparry
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2014/11/12/organigram-v-ogi-and-massive-deal-everyone-missed#IgIXv2cpjmp2ttXr.99
- Published in Blog, Medical Marijuana
Organigram (TSXV:OGI) has entered into a binding letter of intent with Trauma Healing Centers!
Organigram (TSXV:OGI) Has continued to show its innovation in the marketplace with its latest expansion.
Today, November 11th, Organigram entered into a binding LOI with Trauma Healing Centers. By June 2015 Organigram will cater to 13 new locations, including Edmonton, Ottawa, Quebec and Halifax. Medical marijuana has long been known to aid PTSD users, and this is a major step in bringing it to the public. This collaboration will bring about new research into PTSD and the use of marijuana as treatment. Organigram’s dedication the highest level of quality can easily be seen in its recent internationally recognized organic certifcation.
The current medical marijuana space has seen many turns. The recent changes in Oregon, Alaska and DC joining the legalized world of marijuana shows how new this industry is, and how quickly things are changing. We are only at the beginning of this North American emerging market! With over 1000 applications to Health Canada for licenses, Organigram’s early acceptance will allow them a strong foothold on the growing marketplace.
- Published in Blog
Organigram (TSXV:OGI) Supporting Five-city Cross-Canada Program to Provide Cannabinoid Education
OTTAWA, Nov. 4, 2014 /CNW/ – The Board of Directors of the Canadian Medical Cannabis Industry Association (CMCIA) today announced a partnership with the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) to support, through an unrestricted grant, a 5-City Continuing Medical Education (CME) program to be held in February-March 2015.
This educational initiative aims to provide balanced and evidence based cannabinoid education to Canadian healthcare practitioners (physicians and nurse practitioners). The program builds on the portfolio of successful and respected educational sessions led by the CCIC since 2007. The program objectives and contents are developed by a national steering committee and are totally independent from funding sources.
Regulatory changes by Health Canada’s Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) that took effect last April made physicians directly responsible for deciding who should legally have access to marijuana for medical purposes.
“As physicians our number one priority is to help patients. It is imperative that physicians have sufficient knowledge about cannabis and cannabinoids in order to engage in informed discussions with patients about the therapeutic use of these drugs” said Dr. Mark Ware, Executive Director of the CCIC. “The CMCIA sponsored education program will build greater awareness of the risks and benefits of cannabinoids among Canadian physicians. We are encouraged to see the industry supporting this important work. We hope this is the beginning of an important partnership between physicians, researchers and the medical cannabis industry” Ware continued.
As the national association representing the majority of licensed producers regulated by Health Canada under the MMPR, the CMCIA is pleased to support unbiased independent research presented directly to physicians by physicians.
“A key area of focus for the CMCIA is to address the identified need for physician education on both the therapeutic risks and benefits of medical marijuana” said Marc Wayne, Chair of CMCIA.
“The time has come to address these gaps head on and work collectively to support members of the medical community so they can provide the best treatment for their patients. I am very pleased to see members of our industry leading this effort and working collaboratively to support these important initiatives. This program will help to reduce the stigma associated with the use of medical cannabis.”
The 5-city tour is expected to travel to Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.
The CMCIA would like to thank the following members who are supporting this important CME Education tour:
ABcann, Agrima, Bedrocan Canada, CannMedica Pharma, MedCannAccess, MedReleaf, Mettrum, OrganiGram, and Tweed.
About the CMCIA
The Canadian Medical Cannabis Industry Association (CMCIA) is Canada’s leading member-driven association for Licensed Producers (LPs) of medical cannabis. We represent the majority of producers currently licensed under the Health Canada’s Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), in force as of June 19, 2013.
The CMCIA’s mission is to promote national standards and best practices by supporting the development, growth and integrity of the medical cannabis industry. The association acts as a national voice for our members, and serves as a credible and trusted resource on issues related to medical cannabis industry.
The group shares a philosophy of patient-centered care and improved public health, and is committed to product safety and quality, secure and reliable access for qualified patients, and promotion of the safe and effective use of cannabis for medical purposes.
About the CCIC
The CCIC is a federally registered Canadian nonprofit organization of basic and clinical researchers and health care professionals established to promote evidence-based research and education concerning the endocannabinoid system and therapeutic applications of endocannabinoid and cannabinoid agents.
- Published in Blog
Van Sun urges caution on Vodis, other pot stocks
See In the News (C-VP) Vodis Pharmaceuticals Inc
The Vancouver Sun reports in its Wednesday edition reefer madness is a reasonable description of the frenzy sparked by Canada’s decision to replace 30,000 small medical marijuana producers by licensing a few big ones. The Sun’s Daphne Bramham writes eventually, the market could be worth as much as $3-billion. There has been so much hype that in June, the B.C. Securities Commission urged people to be “cautious” about investing in medical marijuana companies, most of which have yet to receive Health Canada approval. Health Canada confirms only 22 applications have been approved so far, and only three of those are publicly traded. The rest are trading on the imprimatur of big names and the hopes and dreams of all the money to be made. The licensed OrganiGram trades above $2, while the unlicensed Vodis Innovative Pharmaceuticals trades at 40 cents. Vodis recently added sitting Liberal Senator Larry Campbell to its advisory board. He is being paid in stock options — 250,000 at 40 cents. Also on the board is John Reynolds, a Conservative bagman, former speaker of the B.C. legislature, former MP and former Howe Street stock promoter. Muileboom Organics boasts former prime minister John Turner on its board.
- Published in Blog
OrganiGram ships first medical marijuana orders
ORGANIGRAM PASSES PRODUCT TESTING AND SHIPS MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO CUSTOMERS
OrganiGram Holdings Inc. has shipped its first orders of medical marijuana to customers.
The product being shipped was sent to RPC Laboratory to undergo product testing as per Health Canada guidelines. The company has received the results of said testing that confirm the product to be in conformance with the Health Canada marijuana for medical purposes regulations (MMPR).
Chief executive officer Denis Arsenault states: “We are extremely pleased to have passed testing and shipped product to our first customers. The fact that we were able to produce product that passed testing without the process of irradiation (cold pasteurization) confirms the high quality of our team, facility and validated the benefits of our organic growing process.”
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- Published in Medical Marijuana