Flowr: “The length of stay in Portugal depends on several factors”

Lance Emanuel, President and Interim CEO of Flowr, responds to some questions sent by Cannareporter, following the news of harvest of three tons of medical cannabis biomass by Holigen in Aljustrel.  

(English Version below)

How is RPK Biopharma working so that the production of Aljustrel is launched with GMP certification through the facilities in Sintra?
We believe that we will be able to carry out some activities at our facilities in Sintra, which, as you know, is GMP certified, which will ultimately allow us to launch GMP dried flowers in the international (EU) cannabis markets. You are right, we are cultivating in Aljustrel (under the GACP) and we can carry out some of the post-cultivation activities (such as drying, curing, trimming and packaging) in our Sintra facilities, for the release of the product with GMP . Of course, we can also produce products in Sintra and launch under GMP, although our production capacities are more modest compared to Aljustrel.

Lance Emanuel was president of Flowr for 2 years and is now the new Interim CEO

What is the difference between internal and external polytunnel operations compared to GACP and other GMP guidelines? What are the plans for the future in the 40 hectares of Aljustrel?
Polytunnels allow some degree of protection from the elements compared to produce grown purely outdoors. We recently obtained about 35 kg of consistent high quality, high THC product from the polytunnel harvests. We believe that we can launch this product under GMP according to the above mentioned methodology. We have not yet released specific plans for the other 40 hectares, but the beauty of the scale of the asset is that we can increase production along with growing demand and, at the end of the day, the international/European markets for medical cannabis are still in their infancy, a growth perspective. Given the size of the EU population (over 500 million people) and as more countries legalize it (several are contemplating medical cannabis frameworks), we believe that Aljustrel provides us with a unique scale to serve these markets at a low cost. of cultivation.

What is the fate of the 3,035 kilos of harvested cannabis flowers? Will it be exported to Canadian recreational markets or will it go through the medical cannabis circuit? How much of these 3 tons will stay in Portugal?
For the approximately 3 kg of high THC biomass we have grown this season, we believe we will be able to use them as an input to derived form factors (eg medicinal oils). Discussions are ongoing with potential partners, who are looking to obtain biomass with a high THC content. This product will not be exported to Canada (this is not legal) for recreational or other purposes. In our opinion, the consistency of the harvest was not of sufficient quality to launch this product under GMP as a dry flower. This was our first crop of this scale and we learned a lot about how our genetics perform in different climates/under different conditions, which will help us a lot in our upcoming efforts. The length of stay in Portugal depends on several factors and we do not disclose a specific intention to keep a certain amount of local product, although we are very excited about the opportunity to serve the local Portuguese market through RPK.

Did RPK Biopharma use an Infarmed ACM (Marketing Authorization) to place its products on the Portuguese market? If not, when do you expect to have this authorization?
We have no indication of when we expect to obtain this authorization. It is partially dependent on having the product ready for release and we are working on both.

Given Tilray's recent international operations, what is the key factor for cooperation with RPK in Portugal and what concrete actions will both parties take?
If you're talking about the storage agreement we signed with Tilray, both companies are trying to increase their efforts in the EU and Portugal, looking for ways to collaborate wherever possible. Regarding the storage deal, we had some free space that they wanted to leverage for their purposes. Given that we are both in the country, it makes sense for both parties to work together in this regard.

If RPK Biopharma's activity is effectively centered on Aljustrel, what is the main role of the Sintra facilities and what is the link between the two?
Sintra has a complete Research & Development laboratory, cultivation rooms, processing space, etc. The operations between Aljustrel and Sintra are symbiotic, as our aim is to grow in Aljustrel and process in Sintra. Having said that, for example, Sintra has the capacity to house extraction equipment, which we will be able to install in the future. We also have offices in Sintra and its proximity to Lisbon gives us access to a high quality workforce, who do not need to travel around two hours to go to work in Aljustrel (if they live on the outskirts of Lisbon).
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ENGLISH VERSION

Following the news of Holigen's harvest of three tonnes of medical cannabis in Aljustrel, Cannareporter sent some questions to Flowr, to understand better the Canadian company's operations in Portugal.

Lance Emanuel, Flowr's interim president and CEO, answered our questions.

1 - How is RPK Biopharma working towards having Aljustrel production released with GmP certification through Sintra facilities?
We believe we will be able to have some activities performed in our Sintra facility, which as you know has the GMP certification, which will ultimately allow us to release GMP dried flower into international (EU) cannabis markets. You are correct, we are growing in Aljustrel (under GACP) and can perform some of the post cultivation activities (eg drying, curing, trimming, packaging) in our Sintra facility to release product under GMP. Of course, we can also produce some product in Sintra and release under GMP, although our production capabilities are more modest out of Sintra vs Aljustrel.

2 – What is the difference between the outdoor and the indoor polytunnels operations regarding the GACP and further GMP guidelines? What are your plans for the future on the 40 hectares in Aljustrel?
The polytunnels allow for some degree of protection from the elements vs purely outdoor grown product. We got about 35 kgs of high quality, high THC, consistent product recently from harvests from the polytunnels. We believe we can release this product under GMP per the above mentioned methodology. We haven't disclosed specific plans with the other 40 hectares yet, but the beauty of the scale of the asset is that we can scale up production along with growing demand & at the end of the day the International/EU medical cannabis markets are still in their childhood from a growth perspective. Given the sheer size of the EU population (500m+ people) and more countries liberalize (several are contemplating medical cannabis frameworks), we believe Aljustrel provides us unique scale to service these markets at a low cost of cultivation.

3 – What is the destiny for the 3.035 kilograms of cannabis flowers harvested? Is it going to be exported to Canada recreational markets or will it undergo the medical cannabis circuit? How much will stay in Portugal?
For the ~3k kg of high THC biomass we cultivated this season, we believe we will be able to use it as an input into derivative form factors (eg medicinal oils). Discussions are ongoing with potential partners who are looking to source high THC biomass. This product will not be exported to Canada (that's not legal) for recreational or other purposes. Please note that the consistency of the crop was not of sufficient quality, in our opinion, to release this product under GMP as dried flower. This was our first harvest of such enormous scale and we learned a lot about how our genetics performed in different climates/under different conditions which will help us a great deal for our next efforts. How much stay in Portugal is dependent on several factors and we haven't disclosed a specific intent to keep a certain amount of product local, although we are very excited by the opportunity to service the local Portuguese market through RPK.

4 – Did RPK Biopharma apply to an Infarmed's ACM (Marketing Authorization) to place its products on the Portuguese market? If not, when do you preview you'll have this authorization?
We have not guided on when we expect this authorization. It is primarily dependent on having product ready to release & we are working on both.

5 – Taking into account the recent international operations from Tilray, what is the key factor for the cooperation with RPK in Portugal and what will be the concrete actions that both parties will undergo?
If you are talking about the warehousing agreement we signed with Tilray, both companies are trying to further their efforts in the EU & in Portugal and are looking for ways to collaborate where possible. As it related to the warehousing deal, we had some spare capacity they wanted to leverage for their purposes. Given we are both in Country it made sense for both parties to work together in this instance.

6 – If RPK Biopharma operations are actually centered around Aljustrel, what is the main role of the Sintra facilities and what connection exists between Aljustrel and Sintra facilities?
Sintra has a full R&D lab, grow rooms, processing space etc. The operations b/t Aljustrel and Sintra are symbiotic given our intent to grow in Aljustrel and to process in Sintra. That said & for example, Sintra has the ability/capability to house extraction equipment, which we may install in the future. We also have office space in Sintra and given it's proximity to Lisbon, it gives us access to high quality labor that doesn't need to travel ~2 hours each way to Aljustrel to work (if they live around Lisbon).