Emerald receives certain exclusive rights to established Phytosome® technology to enhance absorption and bioavailability of cannabinoid products



Leading global extraction researcher and manufacturer to provide license of technology and global industrial-scale manufacturing of non-psychotropic cannabinoids for food and health use in Canada

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Feb. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (“Emerald”) (TSXV:EMH; OTCQX:EMHTF) has entered into a license with Indena S.p.A. (“Indena”) of Milan, Italy, bearing certain exclusivity rights in Canada to use Indena’s cannabidiol (“CBD”) extraction technology, and contract manufacturing services for CBD extraction. In addition, Emerald has obtained exclusive use of Indena’s proprietary Phytosome® technology for the purpose of developing novel cannabinoid-based products with superior utility, subject to a minimum volume agreement.

This collaboration leverages Indena’s decades-long global presence in the plant extraction industry and botanical experience in phytochemical research. Indena is the world’s leading company in the identification, development, and production of plant-derived active ingredients for the pharmaceutical, health food, and personal care industries. It is adapting an existing proprietary extraction process to facilitate hemp extraction and will exclusively provide Emerald in Canada with this highly optimized process for extracting and isolating CBD to manufacture cannabinoid-based products. With multiple international large-scale extraction facilities, Indena will be the exclusive third party manufacturing supplier of CBD for Emerald. Emerald will use this CBD in its production of certain product lines.

Emerald and Indena have also established a research collaboration to assess the use of Indena’s Phytosome® technology in combination with various cannabinoids. The agreement provides Emerald with exclusive access to certain of Indena’s scientifically validated, commercially available Phytosome® formulations and plant-based technology that is designed to enhance solubility of compounds that are usually poorly absorbed by the body, such as cannabinoids. For Emerald, evaluating and securing superior technologies like Phytosome® is an important aspect of its objective to develop differentiated and effective cannabinoid-based products to improve human health.

“Emerald is one of the few Licensed Producers in Canada focused on applying proprietary innovation to improve the medical applications of cannabinoids, which is fully aligned with Indena’s scientific approach to phytochemical research,” said Stefano Togni, Business Development and Licensing Director of Indena. “We believe that both companies’ approaches to quality and innovation will create an exciting partnership that will add value to the industry and better serve patients and consumers who look for excellence in their products and predictive health outcomes.”

“In my many years as a practicing naturopathic physician, Indena has been the gold standard in plant extraction in the natural health products industry,” said Dr. Gaetano Morello, Chair of Emerald’s scientific advisory board and CEO of Emerald Health Naturals. “By gaining access to their technology, know-how, and expertise, Emerald is propelling itself as a leader in the innovation of next generation CBD-based products.”

“Reinventing processes and replicating existing expertise does not make sense to us when we can work with the best. We welcome Indena’s decision to work closely with our team,” added Dr. Avtar Dhillon, President and Executive Chairman of Emerald Health Therapeutics. “We aim to bring together unbeatable global expertise, technology and infrastructure to innovate and commercialize value-added cannabinoid-based products, and we will do this with both internal resources and industry-leading partners.

“Indena is one of the oldest and most established extraction businesses in the world. They have served international pharmaceutical companies with natural anti-cancer ingredients. They are leaders in nutraceutical products. With multiple extraction-related deals announced, our comprehensive and cohesive international strategy for cannabis and hemp extraction is unfolding. We look forward to impactful cannabinoid product development advancements in 2019.”

About Indena

Indena is the leading company dedicated to the identification, development and production of high quality active principles derived from plants for use in the pharmaceutical, health food and personal care industries. Backed up by almost a century of botanical experience, the company holds more than 120 primary patents, has published more than 700 scientific studies and co-operates with the world’s most prestigious universities and private research institutions. Indena employs about 800 staff, investing around 10% of its annual turnover in research, making this activity the key to its success. Headquartered in Milan, Indena has 5 production sites and 5 international branches throughout the world and manages sales in more than 70 countries. The Company’s experts communicate and interact constantly with the major international regulatory authorities such as WHO, EMA, FDA and ESCOP, and cooperate on the update of all the main pharmacopoeias. Today, Indena also supplies capacity and expertise for custom manufacturing services and related key technologies. In particular, the company has expanded its offering with a new kilolab to handle semisynthetic and totally synthetic active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) that require high containment, ie. occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 20 μg/m3.

About Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc.

Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. is a Canadian licensed producer of cannabis. Its 50%-owned Pure Sunfarms joint venture in BC is completing the conversion of its 1.1 million square foot (25 acre) greenhouse for cannabis cultivation in the Lower Mainland and its Verdélite operation in Québec is completing the build-out of its 75,000 square feet indoor cultivation facility. Commercial production is expanding in both facilities. Emerald secured over 500 acres of hemp harvest in 2018 and has contracted for approximately 1000 acres in 2019 to 2022 with the objective of extracting low-cost cannabidiol (CBD). Emerald’s team is highly experienced in life sciences, product development, large-scale agri-business, and marketing, and is focused on developing proprietary, value-added cannabis products for medical and adult-use customers. Emerald is part of the Emerald Health group , which represents a broad array of companies focused on developing pharmaceutical, botanical, and nutraceutical products developed to provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the human body’s endocannabinoid system.

Please visit www.emeraldhealth.ca for more information or contact:

Rob Hill, Chief Financial Officer

(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

Investor Relations

(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

invest@emeraldhealth.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include completion of the joint venture and obtaining exclusive Canadian distribution rights; establishing a brand; launch of the Endo line in 2019; sales of non-cannabis products; development of sales channels; expansion of permitted sales of cannabis; leveraging of distribution channels; development of new products; the benefits and effects of certain products; production capacity of various facilities; and receipt of hemp deliveries.



Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties related to, among other things, failure to obtain necessary financing; failure to settle final documentation; failure to obtain regulatory approvals; results of production and sale activities; results of scientific research; regulatory changes; changes in prices and costs of inputs; demand for labour; demand for products; future distribution agreements; failure of counterparties to perform contractual obligations; as well as the risk factors described in the Company’s annual information form and other regulatory filings. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to obtain a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligations to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, unless required by applicable law.