VICTORIA, British Columbia, Oct. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. (“EHT”) (TSXV:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Wagner as Chief Executive Officer and a director of EHT. Mr. Wagner has spent more than 25 years in marketing pharmaceutical products and building biotechnology companies. Bin Huang, PhD, will continue to focus on the management of the company’s operations and expansion as President of Emerald Health Botanicals (“Botanicals”), EHT’s wholly owned subsidiary which is a Licensed Producer under the Canadian Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.



“Mr. Wagner is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive who has used his entrepreneurial, marketing, and leadership skills to guide young life science companies to success. We are pleased to have him join our team as CEO and a director,” said Avtar Dhillon, MD, Chairman of EHT. “Chris’ expertise could not be better suited to the opportunities represented by the Canadian cannabis industry’s transition to legal adult use. Combining his capabilities with Bin’s execution of Botanicals’ expansion plans strengthens our ability to achieve Emerald’s vision to be a prominent player in this promising industry.”

Mr. Wagner worked with Eli Lilly for ten years, rising to Global Team Leader and working in Europe, North America and Asia. Mr. Wagner helped develop and commercialize 15 biologic and small molecule products while at Lilly. He also worked on the global marketing of several notable products, including Prozac®, Cialis®, and Zyprexa®, which achieved annual sales of over $4 billion per year.

Mr. Wagner left Eli Lilly to join Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Vice President, Business Development and Global Marketing, where he helped negotiate global alliances with Roche and Chugai. Mr. Wagner joined Aspreva as its second employee when its valuation was $2 million. During his five years at Aspreva the company reached a valuation of $1 billion; it was later acquired by Galenica.

Mr. Wagner most recently served as Chairman, President and CEO of Contextual Genomics Inc, a molecular bioinformatics company that has worked with AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sanofi to develop and commercialize genomic cancer diagnostic products. He was previously Director, President and CEO of Sirius Genomics Inc., a personalized genomic medicines company. While building these companies, he led expert management and scientific teams through strategy development, scientific discovery, product development, intellectual property formulation, clinical and regulatory processes, capital raising, licensing and partnership deals.

Mr. Wagner is, or has served, on boards at BC Children's Hospital, The Rick Hansen Institute, Canadian Gene Cure Foundation, and LifeSciences BC. He has a BSc in organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia and completed executive programs in finance and marketing research at Wharton Business School and Kellogg School of Management.

“Legalization of adult-use cannabis represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help unveil and deliver the benefits of this amazing plant,” said Mr. Wagner. “Emerald’s leadership and management team have maintained the highest level of federal compliance, scientific rigor, and focus on enhancing human health. I am excited to lead and work with this team to advance Emerald’s distinctive business strategy.”

“We welcome Chris to the Emerald team,” said Bin Huang, PhD. “As Emerald scales to large-volume, low-cost production to meet the cannabis demand expected in 2018 and beyond, Chris’ strategic guidance and notably his marketing and product development expertise will be valuable in positioning Emerald for growth in both the short and long term.”

Join us on our journey of making lives better through cannabis science.

About Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc.

Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSXV:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) operates primarily through Emerald Health Botanicals Inc. ("Botanicals"), a wholly owned subsidiary and Licensed Producer under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. Botanicals is authorized to produce and sell both dried medical cannabis flower and medical cannabis oil in Canada. Botanicals currently operates an indoor facility in Victoria, BC, and is progressing on expansion plans for a 32-acre property in Metro Vancouver and a joint venture with Village Farms, called Pure Sunfarms, utilizing a 25 acre existing greenhouse complex in Delta, BC. Botanicals is one of Canada's most medically focused licensed producers, with a team highly experienced in life sciences product development and large-scale agribusiness. Its vision is to be a leading provider of cannabis products through its production capabilities, proprietary genetics, value-added products and branding, and superb customer experience. Emerald Health Therapeutics is part of the Emerald Health group, which comprises multiple companies advancing diverse botanical, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products that may provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system.

For investor and media contacts:

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 Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements".

We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to legalization of non-therapeutic cannabis sales in Canada; participation in the legalized non-therapeutic cannabis industry; growth in the extract-based market; increased production of cannabis; commercial operations; construction or conversion of production facilities; applications for licensing; obtaining such licenses; commencement of production of cannabis at the Company’s facilities; estimates of production capacity at such facilities; contributions of cash to the JV; international opportunities for the Company; commencement of clinical trials; the Company becoming a leading Canadian supplier of cannabis products; expected timing of any of the above matters; and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.

Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, failure of the federal government to approve legislation legalizing sales of non-therapeutic adult-use cannabis; failure to obtain Health Canada and other regulatory approvals; failure to obtain necessary financing; results of production and sale activities; the Company's historical experience with medical marijuana operations; results of scientific research; uninsured risks; regulatory changes; difficulties in construction or in obtaining qualified contractors to complete construction or conversion of facilities; availability of production facilities; timeliness of government approvals and the granting of permits and licenses; changes in prices and costs; actual operating and financial performance of facilities; equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations; as well as the other risk factors set out in the Company’s annual information form and other filing with the applicable Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.