2017-12-27 16:29 ET - News Release

Dr. Lui Franciosi reports

VERITAS PHARMA SUBSIDIARY RECEIVES HEALTH CANADA DEALER LICENCE

Health Canada has issued Veritas Pharma Inc.'s research and development subsidiary, Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd., dealer licence No. 2018/6970 under Health Canada's Section 9.2 of the Narcotic Control Regulations that will allow it to possess, produce, analyze, sale, send, transport, and deliver cannabis, hemp and related products.

This is a significant step for Cannevert in that in conjunction with discovering and developing new therapeutic cannabis strains, it will also be a commercial service provider of chemistry and biological testing services for licensed producers under Health Canada guidelines.

Veritas's chief executive officer, Dr. Lui Franciosi, stated: "We are excited that Cannevert scientists will now not only be able to obtain a variety of cannabis strains and related products from multiple licensed producers in Canada, but also from around the world with an acquired import permit. They will also be able to produce cannabis liquid extracts and even send them with an export permit to other parts of the world for further laboratory and clinical trial testing."

Although Cannevert's primary focus will continue to be the identification of new cannabis strains for the treatment of specific diseases and conditions, in the new year it will seek to expand its analytical chemistry team, purchase additional testing equipment and lease larger laboratory space on the University of British Columbia campus. The aim is to have a full contract service laboratory operating in later half of 2018.

Dr. Franciosi goes on to say, "CTL will have an advantage over other analytical testing service providers in that it will also offer in vivo and in vitro assays to licensed cannabis and hemp producers to determine the therapeutic potential of their strains (for example, batch-to-batch) under a contract research agreement."

In the near future Cannevert will also explore the feasibility of securing a licence to grow select cannabis strains for research purposes within its laboratories. It is expected to be a more efficient process given that CTL has gone through the dealer licence application process and the legalization of cannabis will occur in July, 2018. As of Jan. 1, 2018, Cannevert will be one of the over 30 laboratories licensed in Canada to conduct activities with cannabis and hemp: Health Canada: Laboratories licensed to conduct activities with cannabis.

About Veritas Pharma Inc.

Veritas Pharma is an emerging-stage pharmaceutical and IP (intellectual property) development company, which, through its 80-per-cent-owned Cannevert Therapeutics, is advancing the science behind medical cannabis.