46 Reasons why Cannabis Technologies (CAN) will Succeed
Cannabis Technologies has begun trading as InMed Pharmaceuticals (C.IN) since the writing of this article.
1) Investing in biotech can be extremely challenging. There is always a chance that someone will come out with a better product. Typically, it takes a decade or more to approval, followed by commercialization. It usuallycosts tens of millions, to billions of dollars per drug. This can be highly dilutive to a small startup.
2) What if one company had a proprietary cookie cutter system targeting a dozen diseases quicker, cheaper and more effective? I am not sure what Cannabis Technologies will be called in a year from now. I think it will have a new name… perhaps GW Pharmaceuticals or Eli Lily? Or Novartis?
3) Dr. Hossain was chiefly responsible for a $157 million deal with Novartis a decade ago. There was also a $376 million deal with Teva in 2012 based on one of his discoveries. More on that later.
4) Dr. Tarek Mansour (Pfizer) was responsible for multiple FDA approved drugs, where the market value exceeded $1 billion. (Zeffix, Troxatyl, Bosulif, Neratinib and PFE384)
5) The big question is...how many therapy product launches, and strategic partnerships will it take before Big Pharma catches on?
6) The amplitude of possibilities dictates that Cannabis Technologies will one day be a dominant player in the prescription cannabinoid medicine market.
7) Many people now know there are at least 85 different cannabinoids isolated from cannabis exhibiting various effects that could prove therapeutic.
8) They also know that cannabidiol (CBD) alone has shown therapeutic benefits to at least 16 diseases.
9) CAN will take advantage of Strain differences to develop drugs for specific diseases, including:
Glaucoma, Inflammation/Pain/Arthritis, Huntington’s, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Obesity, Cancer & Angiogenesis
10) CAN’s proprietary Cannabinoid Drug Design Platform (“CDP”) allows computer science, statistics, mathematics and engineering to study biological data and processes from the cannabis plant which can be targeted to develop therapies for specific diseases and conditions.
11) What will CAN’s CDP be worth to a company that wants to compete with GWPH…or a better question..what would it be worth to GWPH?
12) The main active ingredients in this are the cannabinoids THC and CBD, but other pharmacologically active cannabinoids are also present and are being investigated.
13) This Platform Technology, combined with CAN’s world renowned scientific team, will enable the company to discover therapies based on proven genomics and unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind.
14) They will do this both quickly and effectively, with very little money, by outsourcing patented products that are ready for clinical trials and allow a company like Novartis (for example) to absorb all the costs through to commercialization. CAN will retain a fair and reasonable interest that may generate substantial revenue.
Track Record
Dr. Hossain’s successful financial deals based on his drug discoveries over the last 15 years include:
15) 2004: Xenon, Novartis Enter $157M Deal For Obesity Compounds
16) 2006: Xenon and Takeda Announce $75M Agreement To Develop and Commercialize XEN401 for Pain
17) 2006: Xenon Enters Into Anemia Collaboration With Roche ($7 Million for Equity, and $44 Million From Research Funding)
18) 2012: Teva inks $376M deal on Xenon pain program
19) 2009: YM Biosciences Collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada’s Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI) yielded novel anticancer antibodies that may be safer than similar drugs sold by Genentech/Roche. (another partnership resulted in the production of new breast cancer drug candidates.)
20) 2009: NRC-BRI granted Alethia Biotherapeutics exclusive, worldwide diagnostic rights to a peptide that specifically binds to tumor-associated clusterin in cancer patients.
Who should CAN target?
21) GW Pharmaceuticals has one the broadest clinical pipelines of any company in the marijuana industry…so will CAN.
22) Even though GW may be suffering the typical challenges that all biopharma companies have to endure, with costs far outstripping revenues, they had no problem raising $169.8 million last month.
23) Over 30 years ago, two young men made their way to Vancouver from Seattle to raise money for their software company, and were unfortunately turned down. Their names were Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Very few understood what they had.
24) I think CAN is in the same position today, however, that is changing with Chris Parry writing one of the first articles. Cancer survivor and canabis acdvocate Cheryl Shuman recently endorsed Cannabis Technologies as well.
25) If the billionaire activists want Marijuana to be legalized they most likely would want to facilitate the fast tracking of several revolutionary therapies that will indeed improve the lives of the millions of sufferers around the world.
26) George Soros has spent at least $80 million on the legalization effort since 1994.
27) The late Peter B. Lewis, channeled more than $40 million to influence local debates.
28) The two billionaires’ funding has been unmatched by anyone.
29) Other wealthy activists include: Google billionaire Paul Buchheit, Facebook forefathers Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz, and Men’s Wearhouse founder George Zimmer.
30) As of March 31, GWPH had 75 Institutional Holders (sooner or later, they will know about CAN)
31) Analyst Firms Making GWPH Recommendations: Bank of America, Cowen, Piper Jaffray, Leerink Swann, and Morgan Stanley.
Conclusion Check List:
32) World renowned scientific team with multidisciplinary expertise? Check.
33) CSO who has a track record that developed several drugs over 15 years, generating over $500m in revenues? Check
34) Global organizations, governments, and big pharma companies that have previously benefitted from the teams research? Check.
35) Proprietary Cannabinoid Drug Design Platform? Check.
36) Tools to isolate and identify chemical compounds both quickly and effectively? Check.
37) In-house Breeding, Genetics and Cultivation division? Check.
38) Capable of developing compounds for therapies in months rather than years? Check.
39) Target specific diseases and conditions? Check.
40) Outsource early-stage research and trials to conserve capital? Check.
41) Fast Forward through Phase I, Phase II & Phase III quickly and inexpensively compared to traditional Pharma? Check
42) Competitive edge from companies that rely on third-parties to manufacture their treatments? Check
43) Fully-integrated operations to lower costs and increase quality? Check
44) Capable of commercializing therapies in a 1/3 the time of traditional drug development? Check.
45) Anaglous company with a $1.5b market cap? Check
46) Developing medicines for:
– Glaucoma
– Pain and Inflammation
– Orphan Diseases
– Metabolic Disease (Obesity, Diabetes)
– Cancers and Metabolic Diseases? Check.
Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Chief Scientific Officer
– 20 years of academic and industrial experience in new drug discovery, natural health product development
– Group Leader and Senior Scientist at Biotechnology Research Institute of National Research Council Canada, Government of Canada’s prime biotechnology research organization where he set up pharmacology laboratory to evaluate safety and efficacy of new drugs under development in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular and ocular diseases.
Dr. Tarek S. Mansour, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Scientific Advisor
– Dr. Mansour was responsible for transition of staff and projects to the Pfizer pipeline
-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sabila Biosciences LLC, New York
– Under his leadership, several compounds have progressed to various stages of clinical evaluation including FDA approvals and late stage development including:Zeffix, Troxatyl, Bosulif, Neratinib and PFE384.
Dr. Hyder A. Khoja, Ph.D., M.Sc., A.Ag.
Director of Botanical Research and Cultivation
– 17 years of extensive experience in a broad range of life sciences and business services with strong leadership combined with functional expertise and experience in general business management
– Industry experience spans from initiation, operation, and contribution towards developing several research and business proposals in the fields of Agriculture-Food Security, Food Safety & Sovereignty, Alternative energy, Renewable resources, Biofuels, Nutraceutical, Hydroponics, Agriculture & Land use management and Technology transfer
– Presented his work both in at federal government and academic institutions with authorship in over 18 peer-reviewed papers, primarily in genomics, plant physiology, and alternative energy.
–His work was also recognized and appeared in United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Environment and Natural Resources Management as a working paper for Algae-based Biofuels
Craig Schneider
One of Craig’s first companies that he worked for was Ultra Petroleum. The stock dropped from .95 to .45 before blasting through the stratosphere to a stunning pre split price of close to $200. Put another way, the market cap rose from around $3 million to close to $3 Billion!
Loyal investors were rewarded once again in 2006, as he was the cofounder of Magnum Uranium, which was taken over by Energy Fuels in 2009. Shareholders were once again exposed to another potential 1000{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} gain by 2011.
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/c.can/cannabis-technologies-inc#2FOuXY6qmBPTVqry.99
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Six-year-old medical marijuana user runs afoul of Health Canada rules
<p>Now six years old, Liam is registered to start Grade 1 in September at St. Michael school in Fitzroy Harbour, with the help of an educational assistant and full-time nurse.</p>
<p class=”p1″>On Wednesday, he was counting characters in a children’s book from the world of Teletubbies, and seemingly having a pretty good day. “I went to the park,” he said shyly. “I read a book.”</p>
<p class=”p1″>He suffered a small seizure while speaking to the Citizen.</p>
<p class=”p2″>Even though Liam is licensed to use medical marijuana, taking it in extracted oil form violates Health Canada’s new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, which came into effect April 1.</p>
<p>Under the regulations, the strains of marijuana that producers can sell are no longer restricted, making it easier to find strains high in CBD, the chemical that treats Liam’s condition the best, but low in THC, a psychoactive component associated with pain relief.</p>
<p>However, licensed producers can only sell dried marijuana. They can’t sell any derivative products, such as oils or foods made with marijuana.</p>
<p>The McKnights receive a boxed shipment of 150 grams of dried marijuana from Bedrocan, one of 13 licensed marijuana producers in Canada, each month. Turning it into the oil that Liam consumes — about a quarter of a cup each day — is not a straightforward task.</p>
<p>“Health Canada says Liam has to smoke it or he has to vaporize it,” said McKnight. “Those are our two options, that’s it. So although they give him a license, the form of delivery is ridiculous.”</p>
<p class=”p1″>The major problem with vaporizing it, McKnight said, is managing the dosage. They want to build up the CBD in his system and keep him stable. With vapour it’s instantaneous, the effects are immediate and you can’t keep track of amount of CBD entering system the way you can with oil that has had its chemical contents analyzed in a lab.</p>
<p>So, instead, they ship the dry buds to the Montreal-based Medical Cannabis Access Society, where it is processed and extracted into coconut oil. Then, it is shipped back to them. McKnight sends a sample of the batch to a laboratory in British Columbia that analyzes the oil’s CBD and THC content so she can give Liam precise doses.</p>
<p>Technically, this process goes against Health Canada regulations.</p>
<p>It is expensive, too. Cannabis is $7.50 per gram. Extraction costs money; shipping costs money; lab work costs money. Liam also undergoes occupational, physical, speech and listening therapy. He has a live-in caregiver, along with the full-time nurse.</p>
<p>“Financially, it’s draining,” said McKnight. “If we were getting an extraction from a licensed producer, it wouldn’t cost nearly this much. I don’t even know how long we’re going to be able to sustain this.”</p>
<p>Adam Greenblatt, the executive director of the cannabis access society, said he believes that as many as 60 or 70 per cent of medical marijuana users would use derivative products if they could legally buy them.</p>
<p>“There’s a huge need for these derivative products in the patient population, a huge desire in this new medical marijuana economy to produce and sell and standardize them,” he said, adding there could even be special prescriptions for these products. “It’s up to Health Canada to get with the times.”</p>
<p>Apart from oils, these include hashish, baked products such as brownies, capsules and tinctures, which are liquid suspensions of cannabis in alcohol or glycerine. Not everyone can vaporize or smoke cannabis.</p>
<p>Greenblatt makes cannabis brownies for his own father, Michael Greenblatt, 65, who has suffered from multiple sclerosis for nearly 30 years and uses medical marijuana to help alleviate his systems. Because of the MS and asthma, his lungs are too weak to handle smoking or vaporizing marijuana.</p>
<p>Greenblatt helps the McKnight family, along with five or six others, to process dried cannabis into oils to treat Dravet syndrome. But he said there is a huge range of uses for products such as these.</p>
<p>Along with epilepsy and MS sufferers, a growing number of cancer patients use cannabis extracts as treatment. Children and elderly patients, especially, would benefit from an option that does not require inhaling smoke or vapour, Greenblatt said.</p>
<p>“It would be cheaper for producers to be able to make it themselves and sell it that way,” he said. “From an economic and business perspective, it makes sense.”</p>
<p>Isaac Oommen, who works at British Columbia’s Compassion Club Society, a cannabis advocacy organization, said that of their roughly 9,700 members, at least 30 per cent use derivative products such as edibles, oils or tinctures.</p>
<p>He said about 60 per cent of incoming members are patients over the age of 65, and among them, at least 80 or 90 per cent are interested in using those types of products.</p>
<p>In 2012, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that people should be allowed to make their own oils, butters, baked goods and lotions using cannabis, and that designated producers should be able to provide patients with the same.</p>
<p>But the new regulations that came into effect in April mean the case is going back to court.</p>
<p>If the court ruling is found to still stand up under the new regulations, the government would be essentially forced to rewrite those rules, said Greenblatt. But, “These are expensive court battles when really they should just give up the fight,” he said.</p>
<p>For McKnight, who runs a <a href=”https://www.facebook.com/groups/liamsjourney/” target=”_blank”>Facebook page</a> to raise awareness about Liam’s condition, it’s a matter of common sense.</p>
<p>“I really hope that somebody at Health Canada or somebody in this government just finally stands up and says, ‘OK, this is ridiculous. We need to help these kids.’”</p>
<p>Health Canada did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.</p>
<div class=”byline-dates”>Published on: July 16, 2014Last Updated: July 16, 2014 7:37 PM EDT</div>
<div class=”byline-dates”>Marie-Danielle Smith</div>
- Published in Blog
HIGHMARK APPOINTS DMYTRO P. YEVTUSHENKO, PHD. AS SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR
Highmark Marketing Inc. has appointed Dr. Dmytro P. Yevtushenko, PhD, as scientific adviser.
Dr. Dmytro P. Yevtushenko is an accomplished scientist in the area of plant biology and biotechnology. He holds a PhD in cell biology from the Institute of Cell Biology & Genetic Engineering, and an MSc in plant physiology and biochemistry (with distinction) from Kiev State University, Ukraine. Dr. Yevtushenko’s research has focused on crop improvement and food safety using modern techniques of molecular biology, genetic engineering and plant tissue culture. In addition, he has a comprehensive knowledge and interest in metabolic bioengineering, secondary metabolite pathways, gene regulation and bioinformatics.
In Dr. Yevtushenko’s past position as director of research and development at Provitro Biosciences LLC, a plant biotechnology company in Mount Vernon, Wash., United States, he worked on the development and implementation of innovative research programs in plant cell and tissue culture. He previously worked as a research associate in the Centre for Forest Biology and senior scientist at SynGene Biotek Inc., department of biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada.
Dr. Yevtushenko is the author of over 50 publications, including research articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has presented major research achievements at numerous scientific conferences, symposia and meetings. He holds two patents, which are on methods to increase plant yield.
As scientific adviser, Dr. Yevtushenko has agreed to provide Highmark with industry intelligence and updates, and to work closely with management to develop business strategies that take advantage of current and future market opportunities.
According to Health Canada, a licensed producer of marijuana must have an employee designated as a quality assurance person who is responsible for assuring the quality of dried marijuana. Highmark is not a licensed producer of marijuana, but it announced in a news release dated June 24, 2014, that it had entered into a binding letter of intent with BCBUD Producers Inc. to acquire 100 per cent of the authorized share capital of BCBUD. BCBUD has an option to lease a 27,000-square-foot building in the township of Langley, B.C. The property is zoned M-2, and when the facility is operational, it could be capable of producing up to two million grams (4,409 pounds) of medical marijuana per year, with the additional possibility of expansion adjacent to the site. BCBUD has prepared an application to become a licensed producer. It is not known if and when BCBUD will obtain the requisite licence. The key milestones to obtaining the licence include filing an application, receiving a ready-to-build notice, completion of the upgrades as per the application, approval to produce upon inspection of the facility and finally approval to distribute the product to patients. If Highmark does become a licensed producer of marijuana, Dr. Yevtushenko will assist Highmark with fulfilling its quality assurance requirements under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) program.
In addition, and more specifically, the scientific adviser has agreed to make his knowledge and expertise available to advising Highmark regarding research and development on marijuana and marijuana strains, as well as advising on research and development methods with the view to improving yield. Any research and development concerning marijuana may be subject to necessary governmental approval.
As consideration for services provided, Highmark will grant Dr. Yevtushenko, in accordance with the company’s stock option plan, an incentive stock option to purchase 50,000 common shares in the capital of Highmark.
Highmark looks forward to working with Dr. Yevtushenko and learning from his expertise to further Highmark’s business in the medical marijuana sector.
July 9, 2014, news release
Highmark would also like to revise the news release dated July 9, 2014, which announced the close of the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement. Finders were inadvertently described as agents. All other content of that news release remains unchanged.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2014 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Affinor Growers Completes 45-Acre Land and Facilities Acquisition in Quebec to Produce Strawberries
MONTREAL, CANADA — (Marketwired) — 07/21/14 — Affinor Growers (CSE:AFI)(OTCQB:RSSFF)(FRANKFURT:1AF) (“Affinor” or the “Corporation) has purchased 45 Acres of agriculture property in St-Chrysostome, Quebec, for $340,000.
An offer has been accepted on the 45 acres of prime land south of Montreal and Affinor Growers plans to build a state-of-the-art, strawberry-growing facility in St-Chrysostome, Quebec.
Sebastien Plouffe, president and CEO, comments: “This acquisition is strategically perfect for our distribution plans because it’s located about 30 minutes from Montreal and only few kilometers from the New-York State Border. We’re proud to be able to build the facitliy in the Province of Quebec renowned for it’s agriculture experts and know-how. The Quebec provincial government has incentives for investment into agriculture and job creation, and the Affinor Growers team is excited to explore ways to best collaborate and expand into such a unique culture in Canada. We will be very proactive to begin construction of this facility to satisfy our future clients.”
Update on Affinor Growers:
After completion of due diligence, the Affinor Growers board of directors have decided not to proceed with the LOI signed and announced on June 9, 2014. Fab-All will still continue to build parts for the Vertical Design equipment as Fab-All produces excellent, high quality products.
Affinor Growers will also not complete the land acquistion in Saskatchewan and will instead concentrate it’s effort on building a facility in St-Chrysostome, Quebec and to complete the acquisition of the Vancouver rooftop garden.
About Affinor Growers Inc.
Affinor Growers is a diversified publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol (“AFI”). Affinor is focused on growing high quality crops such as romaine lettuce, spinach, strawberries and high quality medical Marijuana. Affinor is committed to becoming a pre-eminent grower, using exclusive vertical farming techniques.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors AFFINOR GROWERS INC. "Sebastien Plouffe" President & CEO
The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This News Release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this News Release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company’s disclosure documents which can be found under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com. This News Release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Contacts:
Contact Information
Sebastien Plouffe
President & CEO
(514) 947-2272
splouffe@affinorgrowers.com
http://www.affinorgrowers.com/en
Contact Information
Momentum PR Inc
Max Gagne, President
(514) 913-0351
max@momentumpr.com
Contact Information, spokesperson
Vertical Designs Ltd
Nick Brusatore, CEO
(604) 356-0411
nbrusatore@gmail.com
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Active Component Of Marijuana Has Anti-cancer Effects, Study Suggests
Guillermo Velasco and colleagues, at Complutense University, Spain, have provided evidence that suggests that cannabinoids such as the main active component of marijuana (THC) have anticancer effects on human brain cancer cells.
In the study, THC was found to induce the death of various human brain cancer cell lines and primary cultured human brain cancer cells by a process known as autophagy.
Consistent with the in vitro data, administration of THC to mice with human tumors decreased tumor growth and induced the tumor cells to undergo autophagy. As analysis of tumors from two patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (a highly aggressive brain tumor) receiving intracranial THC administration showed signs of autophagy, the authors suggest that cannabinoid administration may provide a new approach to targeting human cancers.
Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Journal of Clinical Investigation. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Affinor Growers (C.AFI) likes weed fine, but sees bigger profits in food
Some have big plans but no license. Others have a license but have yet to make good use of it.
Affinor Growers (CSE:C.AFI, Stock Forum) is one of the 800 or so companies hoping to receive eligibility as a Health Canada licensed producer of medical marijuana by the end of 2014 but, unlike most, its existence doesn’t depend on that decision.
In fact, the company sees profits as good – if not better – in other areas… Areas that don’t require a long period waiting for Health Canada to process a license application.
Affinor’s promotional material features a strawberry with a bite taken out of it, with the slogan “Think differently, again,” a play on Apple Computer’s famous ‘think differently’ campaign from years gone by.
And it’s an accurate reflection on how the company is doing business. Though the Apple association may be a little premature, the plan, as laid out by Affinor Chairman and Advisor (and technology supplier, and pitchman) Nick Brusatore, is to create multiple revenue streams so that the organization is ‘sector-proof’ – riding the ups when they happen, and being able to rely on new opportunities as the downs settle in.
In short, while the rest of the sector is waiting to be given permission to grow weed, Affinor is moving forward with a plan to grow strawberries.
Using their fully automated, software-driven, vertical grow technology of Brusatore’s just absorbed company Vertical Designs to produce non-GMO, mechanically pollinated, high yield, high shelf-life, high demand, fruits and vegetables, Affinor hopes to show investors that it isn’t a weedco, but an aggressive, technology-driven agricultural giant in the making.
To be sure, that’s a complicated story for a lot of drive-by investors. People tend to boil the Affinor story down to their being “strawberry growers”, as a casual insult cast from the cheap seats, rather than look at the justification behind the decision.
Just like medical marijuana vertical integration success story Abattis Bioceuticals (more on them later), Affinor’s opportunity takes some patience to understand. It’s hard to boil it down to one phrase.
Perhaps the best way to describe is is it’s not an ‘if you grow it, they will come’, story. It’s a ‘your weed is going to be worthless soon, so we’re going to set up shop in a way that takes advantage of that’ story.
STAGE ONE: THE PATH TO WEED IS PAVED WITH BUREAUCRACY AND PAIN
Affinor’s current thinking goes, simply, if the company can make as much money growing local, organic, high quality foods as they can growing medical marijuana, without needing a license to do so, why wait for Health Canada to get its act together permitting the latter option?
The decision to strawberry it up hasn’t been well received in all quarters, but it has been well received in many – and perhaps the ones that matter most; Affinor’s key investors.
Brusatore laughs the criticisms off.
“We’re a little more on the cautious side,” he told me by phone last week. “Weed is a piece of our business; we grow plants and obviously marijuana is a plant. We will do what we can for shareholders through potential opportunities in the medical marijuana business, as long as it provides itself as a positive in a corporate due diligence manner. We’re doing due diligence in things people don’t know we’re doing due diligence for, and I’ll tell you, 90{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of what is out there in the weed space is crap.”
Because getting an LP approval together is a long process, Affinor’s Plan B recently became its Plan A.
And the market hasn’t punished the company for that pivot. Quite the opposite, in fact: while many of its competitors are struggling to maintain stock surges from earlier in the year as questions are asked about where mega-grows will be able to sell all their pot, and for a price that’s sustainable, Affinor is up 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} since late April.
“I can get $100m a year for high quality strawberries, without the potential downside of the marijuana business, and I can do that deal right now,” says Brusatore. “I can sign those deals today. So we’re not going to wait for Health Canada to dictate when we can make money for our shareholders, we’re going to go forward with the best plan for right now, we’re going to prove out our technology, and we’re going to get into a revenue situation as quickly as possible.”
STAGE TWO: THE DOUBLE DOWN
Long-time readers may recall the Brusatore name from another party in the MMJ space: the aforementioned Abbatis Bioceuticals (CSE:C.ATT, Stock Forum).
In earlier times, vertical farming expert Brusatore was closely aligned with the front running $37m market cap aggregator in the space, but ultimately took his profits and made the shift to Affinor when that group began collecting a who’s who of big brains and showed strong interest in his technology in areas beyond weed.
“I had recently made a small fortune on Abattis stock and was looking for the next opportunity. What I suggested we do at Affinor was to create a strong market cap, good liquidity and pay attention to the stockholders. I wanted smart people thinking about different ways to approach things. They agreed and we started making quiet plans to work together.”
Brusatore moved a significant chunk of his Abattis winnings into Affinor, backing himself and his technology as much as the team he was joining. The Chairmanship came after he had bought a large holding in the business.
“Prior to signing, I bought as much as I could and started hammering the bids. People thought I was out of my mind; I could have bought a shell for nothing, but I wouldn’t have what I have if I did that. There are some incredible people in this company and I wanted to be a part of that.”
STAGE THREE: THE SOFT SELL
Affinor’s tendency to not over-promote was an important attraction too, though it must be said if you put a microphone in front of Nick Brusatore, he’s going to make it work hard.
Dude can talk. As this interview will show.
“When you create 200-baggers in the stock market, it creates a lot of attention across the sector,” he says. “As a company, we’re into marijuana, we have our own facility, we’re waiting for its licence but when people call us on the phone, I’m not telling them ‘it’s coming any day now,’ because I don’t know that it is. I hate that promotional crap. The company should be good enough that you don’t need to make big promises. Just do good business and you’ll attract a following.”
Busatore has seen a lot of big talk in the early stage weed business, but he says he’s determined not to add to it with outrageous promises.
“I won’t BS investors like a lot of other guys out there because we don’t know; nobody does,” he says. “We think we’re getting there, we’ve got a lot of very smart people working on it and we’re putting together an amazing facility, and we can assist in the development of the market based on our partnerships and scale possibilities, but I just don’t trust it when someone says they’re right around the corner from being legal. That’s not what we do.”
The strawberry plan, to Brusatore, makes economic sense, at least in the short term. It gives the company time to perfect its facility, practices, technology and grow model, while earning revenue and not risking product recalls or breaking the law, something few competitors can boast.
“We’re a plant producer and processor. With the vertical grow technology, we can produce on a scale nobody can compete with. Starting with food, specifically strawberries but there’s potential for other high value crops. We have 20 acres for our greenhouse with our own technology, and we can produce $100m in fresh strawberries with $50m in set up costs. 35{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} net. Trade secrets in our tech.”
Brusatore says he appreciates the excitement building behind his company, but believes investors haven’t seen anything yet.
“The meat and potatoes is on the way,” he says. “The building, land assets, revenues, a real business plan by people with experience in the business, this is what the market needs, not LOIs to build vaporizers in the Honduras. Frankly, most of the industry makes me sick. I’m so glad the exchange put out a warning to investors, though we kind of got caught up in it. Sadly, when Bloomberg wrote about that news release we got grouped in with some random pump and dumps, and we might have to sue Bloomberg for that if they don’t issue a retraction.”
Behind the scenes, Affinor is doing a lot more than growing strawberries, including serious work in the medical marijuana business. The plan includes lining up behind other companies with distribution channels and a need for product to supply them, rather than building a patient database from scratch.
“There are lots of people who have potential distribution,” says Brusatore. “We’ve been looking at the path of least resistance, and least cost to shareholders. People who are really lining up the distribution end of the game, we’ll supply them in bulk. We can set them up with packaging, analytics, protocols, automation; we do that for food so it’s second nature for us.”
He adds, “We just want to get a license, make small alignments, follow the rules closely, and do what we’re good at. We don’t want to go too deep into speculative deals; we’ve only issued about 10{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of agreed stock payments to potential partners. If they don’t get a license, they don’t get the rest of stock. We’re in talks with number of large groups who are currently licensed who want to purchase production, so we might get involved in a streamlined consolidation move.”
PART FOUR: WEED AS WHEAT
Part of the reason Affinor isn’t diving headlong into an all or nothing marijuana grow approach is the increasing belief – one also held by Brusatore – that there’s likely to be a glut of medical marijuana product in in Canada before long, and a real lack of distribution options for some companies, which will put increasing pressure on pricing.
And by ‘pressure on pricing’, he means the bottom’s going to fall out of the market.
This is something I’ve been saying for some time, and it’s a theory picking up steam.
“The price will tank quickly,” says Brusatore. “Guys that need to get a big price for their marijuana to survive will tank as the global market opens up and people continue to grow their own. Legalization will come fairly quickly but when that happens, will it be grown cheaper in Lakeshore, Ontario, or Uruguay or Jamaica or who knows where?”
“I think with the mega-grows, what they need to be concerned with is Argentina and Brazil. When you can grow it there, nobody will grow here. Bedrocan can produce for $100 per lb, but to me it looks like the price will be driven down by the global market. The licensing terms from Health Canada are so short – I talk to license-holders and they want $10m-$20m for a license, but who will invest that sort of money for a one year term?”
Brusatore thinks we’ll be looking at a base weed price of $75-100 per lb before long. “Similar to tobacco,” he says.
He also sees a lot of issues with some of his competitors, including the first public license-holder to market, Tweed (TSX:V.TWD, Stock Forum).
“I look forward to looking at their quarterlies,” he says. “Their burn is high, cost to produce is high, and then you’ve got to sell everything through legitimate channels. There are some difficulties, that’s for sure. This is why I think there’s more money in strawberries right now.”
Brusatore says he was so concerned with the overall Canadian weed sector that he had planned to produce a video warning investors about what he considers to be some of the shadier plays on the market (no names for the moment), but the exchange beat him to the punch, releasing their own warning.
“People need to look at just the basic set of numbers; the cash in hand, the burn rate, the market cap. If they don’t line up in decent sequence, I don’t care what the stock is doing, it’s a bad deal.”
Which is part of the reason why Brusatore sees value in the food space.
“The big funds and major players are more interested in food right now. They have their eye on weed but it’s a 9:1 ratio for food vs marijuana because nobody has stuck their head above the crowd and demonstrated solid revenues and legitimacy yet.”
Which isn’t to say Affinor isn’t growing a little test crop on the back forty.
“As far as growing marijuana, we’re pretty well versed. We’re growing right now. Our plants are impeccable. We know what we’re doing. I was in Rolling Stone in 2000 in an article about marijuana, we’ve been all over CNN about growing marijuana. It’s so easy to grow I don’t even bother growing it. Now, good strawberries? That’s a tough one.”
Brusatore says the berry plan is for the product to be greenhouse-grown, 100{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} organic, and produced in a 13-level stack that makes extremely tight use of the facility footprint. The crop will be mechanically pollinated, and the process has been designed and patented by his company, Vertical Designs.
“Canada imported $400m of berries last year,” he says. “If I only supply Canada, $400m is not a bad market.”
“There are lots of exotic type things we can’t grow in Canada unless it’s in a greenhouse. Our country is a wheat, canola, corn kind of agricultural landscape. The bio-makeup of the country is fit for those. If you’re growing indoors, economics, power, the cost to create environments, alternative energy, geothermal, solar, wind – all these things will come into play, so you want to be growing something with strong margins but that you can also turnaround quickly. Our system adds vertical growing to the mix to enhance profitability. Once operations up here in Canada are working, we will license all over the world very quickly. People are already coming at us, we’re closing mega-deals all over world, the opportunities are clearly there. But we’ll build the cookie cutter program first, have someone cut us a cheque, sign the deal, and here we go.”
STAGE FIVE: WORLD DOMINATION
For a guy who doesn’t want to over-promote, clearly Brusatore is a bit of a Chatty Cathy. He’s a fan of what he’s got, what’s he’s done, and believes heavily in where he’s going. And he’s the type of guy who is always moving forward, perhaps to a fault.
At a cocktail party Thursday at Vancouver’s Hotel Georgia, Brusatore announced the company has done a deal with Lululemon founder Chip Wilson to take over the failed Local Gardens rooftop urban farming operation built on top of a parkade on Vancouver’s Richards Street. The 5700 sq. ft. space was expected to turn in 150,000 lbs of produce per year for local restaurants, with 20 times usual yield and under 8{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of traditional water consumption, but didn’t have the capital to continue operations through early growing pains (no pun intended, but I’ll take credit for it) and filed for bankruptcy just 18 months after it opened.
To Brusatore’s credit, he’s getting a facility for pennies on the dollar. But he’s also sold his own Vertical Designs firm to Affinor this week, and acquired a metals fabricator to build parts for his operation in Washington State-based Fab-All, and he maintains a connection with the surging cannabinoid biotech stock Cannabis Technologies (CSE:C.CAN, Stock Forum), and you get the impression if he spotted a ten by ten East Van backyard greenhouse full of dreamcatchers and cracked flowerpots, he’d at least knock on the door and see what they wanted for it.
Those acquisitions haven’t been warmly accepted by the market in the last week. Concerns over focus, dilution, and how the pieces will all fit into one plan are fair. Brusatore says the pieces are all part of the same puzzle. He’s locking down every aspect of the business that he can.
“We want to own revenue streams all over,” he says. “When we bought Vertical Designs, we bought a company with contracts with some of the biggest food producers to set up facilities. When we bought Fab-All, they supply all of our parts for the grow systems. Now that’s locked down. The rooftop is a value deal for a substantial grow facility right in the middle of downtown Vancouver.”
Company CEO Sebastien Plouffe agrees, stating in a news release; “This acquisition will position Affinor Growers as one of the world’s most profitable vertical farming companies. On closing of the [Vertical Designs] transaction and after construction of the first production facility, Affinor Growers will gain additional income streams from equipment sales, royalties on licence agreements, consulting and profits from selling crops.”
“I understand farming isn’t sexy,” Brusatore says. “Even automated, multi-level farming. But hey, y’all gotta eat, right? Weed is a luxury. Food is a necessity. Look around the world – there’s water conservation issues, biological issues in fields, food security issues, bee pollinators are dying, so we’re focused on food right now because it’s a problematic market, and Affinor can become a problematic crop problem solver for the world, in automated form.“
Affinor is moving on strawberries right now, but sees the potential for even bigger margins in other areas, once the science and growing model are proven out.
“We’re looking at things like grapes, asparagus, olives – grapes take eight years to bear fruit. Olives can be 80 to 100 years. But we can manipulate stage one pathways to get fruit earlier in a controlled space. These are issues people aren’t even talking about because people get confused on focus. We’re going to see news releases, shovels in the ground, land purchased, greenhouses built quickly, science advanced. We’re not being crazy, we just want to move to a place where it’s ‘here’s the numbers, and here’s the big purchase order.’”
Brusatore says Affinor is in due diligence currently with some very large groups with a view to rapidly expanding once the model is proven. “Mutual funds, large groups – trust me, they’re not looking at marijuana. They like us because we’re into the food. Or, to put it another way – we can grow marijuana when the time is right, but marijuana growers can’t grow strawberries.”
One potential snag in the plan came with Abattis, who owned the license to use some of Brusatore’s technology in marijuana production. He doesn’t see that as a problem.
“I just developed new technology,” he laughs.
STAGE SIX: GETTING PAST THE HYPE TROUGH
To be clear, Affinor does not present a slam dunk in the sector, at least not yet. Just as the Health Canada licensing situation comes with no guarantees, so too does the agriculture sector. A lot of companies in the food space chase whatever crop is hot right now, such as blueberries, which in just a few years became so plentiful there are silos full of 3-year-old frozen product across the northern US.
But Brusatore says that’s part of what motivates him to develop a company that is able to pivot and isn’t dependent on one stream of income, or one crop, or one facility.
“I think what we’ve done is create a real company with real value for shareholders. We’re not betting it all on the marijuana game, and that just differentiates us from the rest and hedges our bets in this arena. We consider ourselves the safe play, the slow and steady, bricks and mortar, stay focused, not get spread out doing unnecessary acquisitions play.”
“I have a very realistic approach about things,” he says. “It’s great if shareholders are believing in your story, but at the end of the day, you better make damn sure you’re making money, not bleeding and diluting to get paycheques. We’ve decided we don’t want to be raising money for wages, we want to build an enduring business entity that produces revenues that more than pay our salaries. There are no bonuses until we’re making money. We’ve chopped salaries to get there sooner.
Brusatore agrees with the increasing stance in the market that there should be no ‘marijuana sector’ – rather, that there are a whole load of sectors that can use cannabis-related products in existing businesses.
“We are a tech company, really. We are an agriculture company. Not a marijuana company. Marijuana is a plant; it’s just a plant. Great, we’re involved in the hype of it all, but it’s not the biggest piece of the puzzle to us. There’s lots of hype and if it breaks out, we’re right there. But right now, people are fighting to get our investors on our bulletin boards to look at other stocks, which is a compliment to us. They see our investors as the ones to come get. We’re being watched by regulators due to the splash we made coming in, they watch us all day long, but they won’t find anything we do that is underhanded so we welcome the attention.”
On the financial side, Brusatore likes the lay of the land right now for his company.
“We’ve got about $3m in the bank, we have low debt, warrant exercising should bring us about $3m-$4m. We should end up with $5m-$6m cash. I just sent in $580k to exercise warrants. We’ve had offerings from other groups to invest, but we don’t need to do a financing. We can do it but not for equity; we could use a bank if we needed for cash. We’re not looking at more dilution. We could borrow another $2m if we needed it. We don’t have to go far to look for financing.”
Brusatore believes recreational marijuana is coming to Canada – especially should Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party take power at the next federal election. But when/if that happens, he doesn’t expect to see the streets paved with gold.
“It’ll be $20 per pack with $18 taxes per pack. My family used to own liquor stores during prohibition in the 30s, and we’ve already seen this process, we know what’s on the way. Will it be a boutique business or will it be strangled by the big boys? There are lots of places cheaper than Canada and the US to produce medical marijuana. I mean, try to get a tobacco license these days; you can’t do it. There’s no money in it.”
Brusatore’s separation from Abattis is something many insiders have wondered about. He says it wasn’t anything scandalous, just a variation in preferred direction. That should come as no surprise; Brusatore doesn’t call shotgun, he likes to be at the wheel.
“I’ll be honest, it’s wasn’t so much about any issues with Abattis as much as my need to be in control,” he laughs. “It’s a great company and they’re going to do great things, but if something’s not going in exactly my direction, it drives me up the wall. If I do it, I’ll do it my way.”
Brusatore takes great pain to note that the Abattis crowd are “Great guys, good friends, I’m looking forward to their labs getting going, and they’ll have the greatest analytics program in the US. If we end up being in the MMJ space, I’m more than willing to utilise their labs and be a customer. If everyone’s building something that pertains to industry needs, those are the people we want to be aligned with.”
For all his grand plans, the theme that keeps coming up in talking to Brusatore is one I’ve been pounding the podium on for some time; legitimacy. The need to establish real businesses that push past the hype and do things better than the way they’re done right now. The need to return on the investment made and grow in a sustainable way in industries with exponential upside potential.
Brusatore loves hemp. He loves the science. The loves the promise of cannabinoids and medicines that will be derived from them. And he sees the big price surges that have happened in the sector to date as destined for a turnaround before the real businesses in the space start building a long term growth curve.
“What people are forgetting is all these companies with bigger market caps than ours, they’re looking for ways to get past that first surge and taking note as to what we are doing. The daytraders are getting weeded out and larger players are stepping in when they see real businesses emerging. The sector volume is lower today than earlier in the year, but stocks are not dropping. Now people are waiting for the real deal to stand up and start trading. Get it on the rails, become solid, get to the TSX and bigger boards, with revenues and dividends.”
Brusatore’s not in the game, he says, to get rich. Abattis took care of that. Now it’s about empire building.
“I’m really looking forward to getting off the junior boards and becoming a global company. The medical marijuana market is North America right now, but food is global. In the food business, we have offers to build facilities in England, Ireland, the UAE, and Caribbean. License fees on the technology are going to be significant. Consulting feeds will be ongoing. Parts sales will keep money coming in.”
Don’t believe him? Call him up and tell him so.
“I deliberately put my personal cell number on every press release,” says Brusatore. “I take calls from shareholders, if they need to talk, they can call me and hear it straight from my mouth. They don’t feel like they’re being bullshitted by an IR guy. I need control, and that means a lot more work but it’s critical to our team. My reputation has been 15 years in the making and, with what’s happening here, I believe my whole career is on the line every day.”
And the expansion plans? They’re not done yet.
“We’re looking at a pharma facility that’s built. Looking at expanding into drug production maybe. We’re being a little more reserved with that because it’s a big player. Lots of DD with some big boys. We’re doing our best to be transparent and easy to digest, not tie investors up with lots of business models, but if we find something that we think will add to our current model, we’re going to give it a real good look.”
Brusatore has done a lot of explaining over the last few months, as investors haven’t always been into the food over weed plan. But he’s happy with what he’s hearing from people who own Affinor stock.
“I have no investor issues. People understand what we’re doing when they hear me speak, they’re getting it, they know it makes sense. Emails and texts come in all day saying keep it up. Our support is good, and people know I’ve got skin in the game. $2.5m in cash, and my reputation. We’re gonna get it done. With this team behind me, we can’t fail.”
So Nick, about that whole ‘not over-promoting’ thing..
“Solving world hunger and curing cancer; not a bad way to close out a career, eh?” he laughs.
Perchance to dream, Nick. Perchance to dream.
–Chris Parry
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2014/07/15/affinor-growers-c-afi-likes-weed-fine-but-sees-bigger-profits-food#avfgWOch4pxDQTeG.99
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Washington State Garners $148,256 in Taxes in First Three Days of Legal Cannabis Sales
In the first three days of legal recreational cannabis sales Washington State has earned nearly $150,000 in excise taxes, and that’s with just six outlets open on day one, and that number doesn’t include the money made from state and local sales taxes.
In the first day of sales on Tuesday, the state earned $61,604 in excise taxes. The number dropped to $30,924 on Wednesday, before rising to $55,728 on Thursday, bringing the total to $148,256. The figures were released Friday by the state’s Liquor Control Board, the entity tasked with regulating the new industry.
As a result of the huge introductory demand for legal cannabis in Washington State, Cannabis City, Seattle’s only cannabis outlet, has already sold out, and won’t have any more for as long as two weeks.
In total there are 334 recreational cannabis outlets approved for the state, though most won’t be ready to open until the coming weeks and months.
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Chairman Nick Brusatore of Affinor Growers, Inc. to Be Interviewed LIVE on Clear Channel Business Talk Radio – July 15th, 2014
Chairman Nick Brusatore of Affinor Growers, Inc. to Be Interviewed LIVE on Clear Channel Business Talk Radio – July 15th, 2014
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Affinor to acquire Vancouver rooftop garden
Mr. Sebastien Plouffe reports
AFFINOR GROWERS RESCUES VANCOUVER ROOFTOP GARDEN
Affinor Growers Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire all the assets of 0993341 B.C. Ltd. related to the operation of the Vancouver rooftop growing facility, located at 523/535 Richards St., subject to due diligence. The intellectual property from this acquisition is very important to Affinor Growers, and will be useful in future development and production aspects.
North America’s first vertical-crop urban farming system closed operations and filed for bankruptcy after Alterrus Systems and Local Garden Vancouver failed to match their running costs. The vertical farm opened in November, 2012, in downtown Vancouver atop a parkade at 535 Richards St. According to Vancouver news sources, the 5,700-square-foot facility experienced a significant mechanical failure in late December, 2013, which impaired its ability to safely and effectively operate.
This acquisition will allow Affinor Growers to retrofit the facility and start growing strawberries immediately using the recently acquired Vertical Designs Ltd. technology. Affinor Growers will now be able to fast-track operations and demonstrate viability to the market, and add another profitable revenue stream.
This is also a great opportunity for the City of Vancouver to continue its vision of growing fresh urban food and replacing much of the imported produce that comes from 1,500 kilometres to 2,000 kilometres away. The Vancouver food strategy has a plan to create a just and sustainable food system for the city. It builds on years of food systems initiatives and grassroots community development, considering all aspects of the food system, from seed to table to compost heap and back again. Affinor Growers is excited to participate in Vancouver’s goal to become the greenest city by 2020.
Under the terms, Affinor Growers will pay a minimum of $250,000 in cash and the balance to $1.4-million in stock.
- Published in Medical Marijuana
Affinor to acquire Vertical Designs for $15-million
AFFINOR GROWERS SIGNS LOI TO ACQUIRE VERTICAL DESIGNS LTD (VDL)
Affinor Growers Inc. is thrilled to reach an agreement to acquire Vertical Designs Ltd. This acquisition will give Affinor Growers a unique, technological advantage into the multibillion-dollar agricultural markets. VDL’s automated, software-driven technology is unique for its ability to grow grade A1, non-genetically modified organism crops year-round without chemicals or pesticides.
VDL offers proven technology specifically designed to help solve global food security and food shortage issues. VDL designs and builds innovative, fully sustainable and complete growing solutions which are the result of over 12 years of research and development based on predecessor systems, prototypes and significant third party validation. Vertical Designs has developed one of the most scalable and profitable vertical farming systems available.
Affinor Growers will integrate VDL’s enhanced farming methods to grow various crops year-round. These proprietary technologies control the precise combinations of light, temperature, water and nutrients to create specific growing conditions that result in optimum crop production of leafy green vegetables like lettuce, spinach and herbs, as well as plants that require pollination such as strawberries and marijuana. VDL has pioneered a proprietary mechanical pollination system that allows food to be grown indoors year-round, regardless of seasonality with near-zero water waste.
Under the letter of intent terms, Affinor is acquiring 100 per cent of VDL shares for an aggregate purchase price of $15-million, payable by the issuance of 17,857,143 common shares of Affinor Growers at a deemed price of 84 cents per share, subject to due diligence and regularity approval.
Sebastien Plouffe, president and chief executive officer, comments: “This acquisition will position Affinor Growers as one of the world’s most profitable vertical farming companies. On closing of the transaction and after construction of the first production facility, Affinor Growers will gain additional income streams from equipment sales, royalties on licence agreements, consulting and profits from selling crops. We intend to become the world’s solution for food security.”
- Published in Medical Marijuana