Organigram Receives Health Canada License Renewal and Expansion for Final Elements of Phase 5 and Provides COVID-19 Update
9:23 am ET March 23, 2020 (BusinessWire)
Organigram Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI) (TSX: OGI), the parent company of Organigram Inc. (the "Company" or "Organigram"), a leading licensed producer of cannabis, is pleased to announce that the Company has received Health Canada's approval for the licensing of the remainder of its Phase 5 expansion together with the renewal of its licenses for standard cultivation, standard processing and sale for medical purposes under the Cannabis Regulations. The renewed and expanded licenses are effective as of March 20, 2020.
Licensing
The terms of the licenses include approval of a two-floor production facility designed to support all processing activity as well as dedicated spaces for packaging of flower, pre-rolls, vape pens and powdered beverages.
The Phase 5 expansion also includes a new extraction facility with increased capacity for CO2 extraction, and winterization as well as new capabilities designed for future product development.
The amendments also allow for new purpose-built harvest and drying rooms and support areas for quality assurance, maintenance and sanitation.
The licenses are valid for a three-year period until March 20, 2023 and are subject to customary terms and conditions.
COVID-19
The Company has been carefully monitoring and actively planning for the evolving situation related to COVID-19 and potential impacts on the Company's business and operations. The Company is managing its production and staffing levels at its Moncton facility (where not all functions can be addressed remotely) to protect the health of its employees and the community. The Company currently expects that its workforce will be materially reduced as a result of voluntary and company-imposed temporary lay-offs to facilitate adequate social distancing while the COVID-19 situation lasts. This will result in corresponding production and packaging reductions. The situation is evolving and it is not yet possible to quantify these anticipated changes. The Company plans, among other things, to reallocate its remaining workforce as needed, utilize inventory already on hand and focus on leveraging its most efficient and automated lines of production.
"We continue to monitor this rapidly changing situation and will make the decisions necessary to ensure the safest environment for our employees and their families as well as protecting the best interests of our business and our stakeholders," said Greg Engel, Chief Executive Officer.
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