CanniMed
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| TSX:CMED | |
| Industry | Medical Cannabis |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Brent Zettl |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Canada |
| Products | Medical cannabis |
| Parent | Aurora Cannabis |
| Website | |
CanniMed Therapeutics Inc.is a Canadian public licensed producer ofmedical cannabis.It is primarily focused oncannabis oil.The company's predecessor, Prairie Plant Systems, was established in 1988 and is located inSaskatoon,Saskatchewan. In 2013 CanniMed became the first cannabis producer to be licensed underHealth Canadaregulations that were issued that year. It went public in 2016, and in March 2018 almost all of its stock was acquired by a rival producer,Aurora Cannabis,following ahostile takeoverto which company management finally consented.
History
[edit]The predecessor to CanniMed, Prairie Plant Systems, was established in 1988. PPS began its business by providing fruit trees to orchards.[1]Fruit products includeSaskatoon berries,haskap(blue honeysuckle) and dwarfsour cherries.In 1990, it entered a joint venture withHudson Bay Miningto establish an underground growth chamber in the Trout Lake mine inFlin Flon,Manitoba.[2]
In 2000, PPS received a contract from Health Canada to grow medical cannabis.[3]It used its facility in Flin Flon for this purpose.[4]From that time until 2013, PPS was the only company given a Health Canada license to grow cannabis, although as of 2012 only 12% of medical cannabis users used PPS, with most of the rest growing their own cannabis.[5]In 2000 PPS set up a US subsidiary called SubTerra, and in 2003, it acquired theWhite Pine minein Michigan, for use in bio-pharmaceutical research.[1]In 2009, PPR lost its lease to the Flin Flon facility when a deposit of zinc was discovered below it, and so the company built its first above-ground cannabis growing facility.[6][2]
In 2012, PPS through SubTerra announced its intention to grow medical cannabis in its Michigan mine, based on the 2008 legalization of medical cannabis in Michigan.[1][7]In 2014 SubTerra bought an Upper Michigan power company in order to secure energy supply to its research facilities.[8]
In 2013, Health Canada changed its medical cannabis regulations, banning in-home production and opening up commercial production to additional companies, and that year PPS and its new subsidiaryCanniMed Ltd.became first producers to be certified under the regulations.[9][10][11]
In June 2015 CanniMed receivedHealth Canadaapproval for clinical trial of cannabis in adults withosteoarthritisof the knee.[12][13]In January 2016, CanniMed receivedHealth Canadaapproval to sell edible cannabis oil.[14]On December 29, 2016, it held an IPO on theToronto Stock Exchange,raising $69 million.[15]The new public company was named CanniMed Therapeutics, and had Cannimed Ltd. and Prairie Plant Systems as subsidiaries. In March 2017, it announced a deal to distribute its products withPharmaChoice,a Canadian co-operative pharmacy chain.[16]In April 2017, it announced a $10 million expansion of its facility in Saskatoon.[15]
In November 2017,Aurora Cannabisstarted trying to acquire CanniMed, and claimed it had the support of 38% of shareholders.[17]CanniMed management responded by rejecting the offer, and proposing an alternative merger with Newstrike Resources, a recreational cannabis firm, instead.[18]In January, Newstrike shareholders approved the proposed merger,[19]but CanniMed management started to reconsider Aurora's offer.[20]In January 2018, Cannimed called off its proposed acquisition of Newstrik and agreed to be bought by Aurora for $1.1 billion in stock and cash to create a larger company than the industry leader at the time,Canopy Growth Corporation.[21]Aurora had put out an offer to buy CanniMed's stock from its holders for cash and Aurora stock; the offer terminated at the end of March and by that time Aurora owned around 96% of CanniMed stock, and had paid out around 69.3 million of its shares and $134 million in cash.[22]Aurora said at that time that it would compel the remaining shareholders to sell their stock and would formally absorb CanniMed at a later date.[22]In April 2018 the CEO of CanniMed, Brent Zettl, resigned and Andre Jerome was appointed interim CEO.[23]Around the time of acquisition CanniMed's stock price rose dramatically as people anticipated the legalization ofcannabis in Canadain the summer of 2018, raising concerns about abubble.[24]
In June 2020, Aurora cannabis announced the closure of the Saskatoon facility.
References
[edit]- ^abcEgan, Paul (April 22, 2012)."Part 1: Company wants to grow quality medical marijuana in old mine".Detroit Free Press.Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2015.Egan, Paul (April 23, 2012)."Part 2: Underground pot farm could breathe new life into U.P. mining town".Detroit Free Press.Archived fromthe originalon April 25, 2012.
- ^abNaylor, Jonathon (2012-07-05)."High times over for marijuana mine".Winnipeg Free Press.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^Crowther, S M; Reynolds, L A; Tansey, E M, eds. (2010).The Medicalization of Cannabis.Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine, vol. 40.London: Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL.ISBN9780854841295.
- ^"Medical marijuana operation halted in Flin Flon".CBC News.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^"CBC News - Marijuana's journey to legal health treatment: the Canadian experience".www.cbc.ca.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^"Clean Innovation in Focus: Prairie Plant Systems Inc"(PDF).CETAC-WEST. June 2017.
- ^Associated Press (April 23, 2012)."Medical Marijuana Grow-Op".Huffington Post.
- ^"White Pine Power Plant Sold; Traxys Sale Completed".Keneewa Report.August 27, 2014.
- ^Wingrove, Josh (3 October 2013)."Veteran medical marijuana provider seizing Canada's open market".The Globe and Mail.
- ^Graham, Jennifer (September 23, 2013)."Ottawa awards first medical pot licences under new rules to Saskatoon firm".CTV News.
- ^"Authorized Licensed Producers under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations".Health Canada. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2014.Retrieved7 April2018.
- ^Hager, Mike (17 June 2015)."More medical research needed to confirm benefits of pot, doctors say".The Globe and Mail.National Post.
- ^"Dalhousie's medical marijuana study to evaluate effect on arthritis".CBC News.
- ^"CanniMed receives approval from Health Canada to sell cannabis oil".Global News.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^ab"CanniMed plans $10.5 million expansion at Saskatoon plant".Saskatoon StarPhoenix.2017-04-19.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^"Aurora Cannabis considers entering retail market amid uncertainty it will be allowed".Calgary Herald.2017-09-06.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^"CanniMed tells shareholders to wait while it reviews Aurora offer".CBC News.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^"Aurora takeover bid 'makes no sense,' based on inflated share price: CanniMed".CBC News.Retrieved2018-01-23.
- ^Reuters Editorial."Up Cannabis-parent Newstrike's shareholders approve sale to CanniMed".CA.Archived fromthe originalon January 24, 2018.Retrieved2018-01-23.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^"CanniMed postpones shareholder vote, will hold talks with suitor Aurora Cannabis".business.financialpost.com.Retrieved2018-01-19.
- ^Saminather, Nichola (January 24, 2018)."Canada's Aurora Cannabis to buy rival to create world's most valuable weed firm".Reuters.
- ^ab"Press release: Aurora Cannabis Finalizes CanniMed Acquisition".Aurora via New Cannabis Ventures.March 28, 2018.
- ^"CanniMed CEO resigns, Aurora Cannabis SVP takes role in interim".Canadian Business.5 April 2018.
- ^Murphy, Mike (April 3, 2018)."Getting too high? Canadian marijuana stocks skyrocket, raising bubble fears".MarketWatch.