Finalized agreement will open access to education and medical cannabis and hemp CBD products for hundreds of thousands of patients
TORONTO, ON, July 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Tree of Knowledge International Corp. (CSE: TOKI; OTCBB: TOKIF) (the "Company" or "TOK”) is pleased to announce that it has executed a binding Letter of Intent (the “LOI”) for an International Distribution Agreement (the “IDA”) with Cannenta Clinic Corp (“Cannenta” or “CCC”), expanding reach into new markets for the Company into Australia and New Zealand.
Cannenta has developed an online discovery and networking program that empowers patients through consultation to address their needs and connect with physicians and licensed producers for the supply of CBD and other medical cannabis products. In addition, Cannenta has built relationship with groups of clinics and physicians in Australia and New Zealand that service hundreds of thousands of patients. The focus of relationship is on education and the best practices of prescribing Medical Cannabis and Hemp CBD products. Cannenta will also assist the distribution of TOK Products utilizing Cannenta’s Virtual Educator Platform (the “VEP”). With this, TOK’s Products will become available for medical use to over 250,000 patients annually, within Australia alone.
As an established company in this space supported by a 600-seat capacity support center to assist patient-outreach, education and counseling, Cannenta is positioned to ramp up its Cannabis and CBD focused VEP activities in partnership with TOK. The agreement will include integration and analysis of database. The database integration with Cannenta will provide TOK with access to a rapidly-growing and robust database on product strains, related efficacy data, patients and physician preferences as well as ordering patterns. TOK sees this as an opportunity to further expand Company’s capabilities for developing new and well-targeted services for patients as well as tailoring the product pipeline to offer selection of products and strains.
Additionally, the IDA is anticipated to deliver synergies in reaching out to the medical community in Australia and New Zealand through TOK’s strength in Cannabinoid Medicine science. The enhanced medical community relationship is an opportunity for international implementation of TOK’s core focuses on education, patient awareness, prescribing best practices, research and product development.
"One of the biggest challenges the industry has faced since inception is an environment of inconsistent messages and lack of education provided to patients seeking relief of ailments such as pain, sleep disorders, anxiety and other musculoskeletal or neurological conditions,” said Scott Hancox, Co-founder and CEO, Cannenta. “Combining the intelligence gathered by Cannenta and the expertise of TOK, together the parties can tailor product offerings to meet patient needs and help patients get access to the medicine they need in a timely manner.”
Under the terms of the agreement, TOK will supply an initial order of 1,000 units of CBD products for importation to Australia to be distributed to appropriate patients processed through Cannenta’s VEP approved by physician prescriptions. Cannenta’s senior executive team members and most of the management team have resided in Australia to develop an expanded network of operation outreach over the past few years.
“It’s a transformational agreement that catalyzes a trifecta of wins—for patients, for TOK, and for Cannenta,” said Gary Prihar, President, Clinical Operations, Tree of Knowledge, who led the transaction. “Cannenta brings with it a deep understanding of the market, a well-established virtual footprint in the important Canadian and International markets, and a growth platform to expand our interactions with the medical community, all of which represent important differentiators from other Industry producers."
Michael Caridi, Chairman and CEO, Tree of Knowledge, added, “This is fully aligned with our strategy and it underscores our belief that offering a reliable supply of effective, in-demand products will make a strong contribution towards consistent long-term growth of our patient base, and ultimately our stream of revenue.”
The finalized agreement by August 31st will describe performance milestones including certain revenue and patient metrics, as well as the establishment of sales and fulfillment processing in domestic and international territories. As part of the transaction, Cannenta will maintain its commitment to an open platform, enabling each Canadian and International patient to register and purchase products from Licensed Producer of their choice, according to all jurisdictional laws and regulations.
ABOUT TREE OF KNOWLEDGE INTERNATIONAL CORP.
With its head office in Toronto, and operations in North York, Ontario and Spokane, Washington, TOK currently has three primary business segments: (1) Multidisciplinary specialty pain clinics with a focus on the treatment of chronic pain, including controlled applications of medical cannabis in Canada, (2) Development of formulated products for therapeutic purposes and natural health product alternatives at its manufacturing facility in Spokane, which provides formulations for the Company’s products and for third parties equivalent to GMP standards, and (3) Distribution and sale of hemp-based cannabidiol (“CBD”) products in the United States, Canada, Europe, Brazil and China. Through its Toronto Poly Clinic, the Company has gleaned extensive expertise from being involved in one of the largest observational studies on medical cannabis and from its ongoing direct patient experience. The Company has developed and implemented MCERP (Medical Cannabis Education, Research and Best Practice Platform) and MCORP (Medical Cannabis Opioid Reduction Program) with great success. Currently, the Company has research agreements with multiple universities for medical cannabis research and new medical grade products development. TOK’s CBD product line contains EVR Premium Hemp Oil, which is an organically grown and handled, gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, synergistic compound that is derived from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved industrial hemp grown in the United States. TOK currently offers several CBD products, which may be used in connection with the treatment of a number of ailments and for general wellness purposes.
ABOUT CANNENTA
Cannenta is a counseling, education and outreach service provider that helps patients learn about how to safely and effectively use medical cannabis, select a strain from the hundreds available and register with the licensed producer or supplier in the patients’ territory or jurisdiction. Cannenta currently has a capacity of 600 support seats and significant international growth potential through its Virtual Educator Platform (“VEP”) and has a capacity to assist 10,000 patient consults a month and connect with licensed producers for the supply of CBD and medical cannabis products. Cannenta also plays an important role in the ongoing education of physicians interested in learning more about medical cannabis, CBD products and the procedures under applicable regulations in their Country that enable patients to obtain cannabis and CBD products.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Tree of Knowledge International Corp.
This news release contains statements about the Company's expectations that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting the Company's best judgment based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that other factors will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to the Company's ability to obtain the necessary financing and the general impact of financial market conditions, the yield from marijuana growing operations, product demand, changes in prices of required commodities, competition, government regulations and other risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law.
For further information please contact:
Tree of Knowledge International Corp.
Michael Caridi, Chairman Tel: +1 (917) 295-1374 michael@tok.ca