MEDIF - MediPharm Sells Australia Asset To OneLife Botanicals
MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQX: MEDIF ) is selling its MediPharm Labs Australia Pty Ltd to OneLife Botanicals PTY in a deal valued at $6.9M AUD ( $6.2M CAD). The transaction is expected to close within 90 days. The deal includes the assets of MPLA, specialized licensing, operational knowledge, and Australian and New Zealand customers currently served from that facility. All international contracts outside of Australia and New Zealand will remain with MediPharm Labs and be serviced from the Barrie GMP facility.
“This sale represents a major milestone for MediPharm Labs as it continues to focus on rightsizing the business to achieve profitability,” said David Pidduck , CEO of MediPharm Labs. “As we look to maintain our strong cash balance, this transaction paired with corporate restructuring completed in June 2022 should allow us to reduce our quarterly burn rate as we improve sales.”
In July 2021 , MediPharm Labs was the first purpose-built cannabis facility to receive a pharmaceutical Drug Establishment License. Awarded by Health Canada, this license is recognized in over 50 countries as part of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S). At this time, the company said it has completed a review of its international manufacturing platform and identified significant potential savings in moving all domestic and international manufacturing to the Canadian facility.
OneLife Botanicals CEO Andrew Grant said, “This purchase aligns and expedites the strategic aim of our organization to produce high-quality medicinal cannabis products by integrating manufacturing into the end-to-end supply chain. The integration of a fully operational facility brings forward our objectives to take our products and brand to the market. Our company undertook extensive research in considering this important acquisition and is highly confident about the capabilities and capacity of the operation to manufacture products in accordance with all compliance and quality standards. The integration of this business with our existing cultivation facility facilitates savings in capital investment, access to operational efficiencies and establishes us as a significant supplier in the Australian medicinal cannabis industry. We intend to build on the existing customer base and develop additional product distribution opportunities to become a formidable participant in the market.”
MediPharm and OneLife Botanicals said they will also enter into a transition services agreement to allow for the two companies to smoothly transition products and services produced in the facility, and to work together on future commercial opportunities.