TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blueberries Medical Corp. (CSE: BBM) (OTC: BBRRF) (FRA: 1OA) (the “Company” or "Blueberries"), a Latin American licensed producer of medicinal cannabis and cannabis-derived products, is pleased to provide the following update on the Company’s recent significant operational achievements:
Commissioning of First Extraction Line
- Blueberries has commissioned the first extraction line at its 2,800 m2 (30,138 ft2) state-of-the-art extraction facility, strategically located in Cundinamarca, the region with the highest concentration of licensed cannabis producers. The first extraction line is fully operational and located in a modern and secure industrial park 30 minutes outside of Bogota.
- The newly commissioned equipment will provide sufficient capacity for the Company to process biomass from Blueberries’ vertically integrated cultivation operations as well as its contract growers and other licensed producers.
- The facility uses supercritical CO2 extraction technology to produce the highest quality cannabis oil and has been designed with the flexibility to also employ ethanol extraction technologies to match market demand.
- The initial capacity of the facility is 80,000kg/year of dried flower with the ability to accommodate significant expansion of up to five additional extraction lines. The Blueberries team is heavily focused on establishing a best-in-class extraction operation with the goal of becoming a leading extraction center in Latin America and an international supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and related products.
- The Company has approximately 450kg of dry flower produced at its Guatavita facility readily available to perform testing and optimization of the extraction, with significant cultivation underway as previously announced.
- The installed Vitalis extraction line is the first equipment of its kind in Colombia having stainless-steel compressor and extraction vessels, built to stringent EU-GMP (European Union - Good Manufacturing Practices) standards. The Company’s facility is designed to comply with GMP standards to ensure standardization and consistency of production. The Company is currently implementing full GMP standards at its extraction facility and expects to commence the certification process shortly which would permit additional export potential to international markets.
“We are extremely pleased to announce the commissioning of the first extraction line at our extraction facility, a major milestone for Blueberries. Our team is executing exceptionally well and is focused on our strategic and operational priorities. We are confident in our ability to continue meeting operational and commercial goals for 2020 as we accelerate towards commercial sales using our scalable and low-cost approach to address the local and international demand for cannabis oil. We are also looking forward to commencing work with our contract and associate growers who share our vision for producing the highest quality cannabis. Our goal is to support our partners, who are licensed producers by providing our proprietary genetics, propagation services and extraction capabilities,” stated Camilo Villalba, Chief Executive Officer.
Supply Agreements with Contract Growers
- During the past month, Blueberries has entered into multiple agreements with local contract and associate growers to secure over 40,000kg/year of dried cannabis supply which is over half of the extraction facility’s current capacity. In addition to the Company's own flower production, these agreements will scale production capacity to meet expected sales growth and maximize the use of the Company’s extraction facility. The contracts provide dried cannabis supply to Blueberries at no up-front cost to produce cannabis oil which is shared between Blueberries and the contract growers.
- Blueberries holds a variety of approved proprietary CBD strains positioning the Company to commercialize and distribute CBD genetics. These strains are currently being cultivated at the Company’s Guatavita facility. The Company will propagate genetics for contract and associate growers which will in turn supply high quality biomass for the Company’s extraction center. This is a scalable infrastructure with potential to generate increasing revenues, profit and free cash flow.
The Company intends to begin commercial production of CBD-dominant oils and products in the first half of 2020. This production will be used primarily to produce medicine and sold to patients individually as specially prepared formulations.
Further Strengthens Operations Team
Effective January 20, 2020, Mr. Carlos Maldonado has been appointed as the Company's Vice President of Operations. Mr. Maldonado brings over two decades of operational leadership in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, as Logistics Director and Production Manager, respectively. This appointment further strengthens the Company's strategic focus on operational excellence and commitment to accelerate growth.
“I am very proud to join the Blueberries team as we take this significant step towards the commercial phase. I look forward to contributing to our shared objectives leveraging my extensive experience and relationships in the pharmaceutical industry,” stated Carlos Maldonado, Vice-President of Operations.
To keep up to date with the Company’s recent developments, please visit the media center on the Company’s website.
About Blueberries Medical Corp.
Blueberries is a Latin American licensed producer of naturally grown premium quality cannabis with its primary operations ideally located in the Bogotá Savannah of central Colombia and operations currently being established in Argentina. The Company is led by a specialized team with proprietary expertise in agriculture, genetics, extraction, medicine, pharmacology and marketing, Blueberries is fully licensed for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of CBD and THC-based medical cannabis in Colombia. Blueberries’ combination of leading scientific expertise, agricultural advantages and distribution arrangements has positioned the Company to become a leading international supplier of naturally grown, processed, and standardized medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products.
Additional information about the Company is available at www.blueberriesmed.com. For more information, please contact:
Camilo Villalba, Chief Executive Officer
cvillalba@blueberriesmed.com
Tel: +57 (313) 483 0131
Ian Atacan, Chief Financial Officer
iatacan@blueberriesmed.com
Tel: +1 (416) 562 3220
Jessika Angarita, Pacta Relations
angarita@pactarelations.com
Tel: +1 (305) 877 4710
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward looking statements relate, among other things, to: commencement of commercial production of CBD-dominant oils and products in the first half of 2020, successful implementation of full GMP standards at its extraction facility to allow for additional export potential to international markets, achieving additional milestones in 2020 as contemplated, or at all, ability to expand distribution networks, ability to expand and upgrade the Company’s cultivation facilities in Colombia, internal expectations, expectations regarding the ability of the Company to access new Latin American and international markets, the ability to attract and retain new customers, and future expansion plans including development of the cultivation, production, industrialization and marketing of cannabis for commercial and scientific purposes.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the Colombian and international medical cannabis market and changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion; political and social uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution and sale of cannabis and cannabis related products in Colombia, Argentina and elsewhere; and employee relations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Additional information regarding the Company, and other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Listing Statement dated January 31, 2019 filed on its issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
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