Corporate Strategic Update
The AGM will provide an opportunity for CB2 Insights to present its shareholders, in-person, the latest updates and future growth opportunities aligned with its mission to be the largest aggregator and provider of Real World Data and Evidence (“RWD” and “RWE”) related to the safety, efficacy and effectiveness of medical cannabis and cannabis derived medications.
Following a transformative year in 2018 and year-over-year and sequential growth in the first quarter of 2019, both organically and through M&A activity, the Company continues its effort to drive towards profitability. The Company operates an already profitable clinical business model, which generated over 15% positive EBITDA in Q1 2019, with these additional cash flows being reinvested into the technology and data insights divisions. The Company has made significant improvements in its overall EBIDTA results and will continue to drive towards achieving a profitable consolidated business model.
The Company is uniquely positioned to capture value today as the largest clinical network in the US serving over 85,000 patients annually with a variety of health indications leveraging medical cannabis therapy as well as now looking to expand internationally to capture new opportunities to increase its global patient registry. Its position as a healthcare focused operation alleviates concerns and challenges faced by a volatile cannabis industry with the vast majority of regulations and subsequent restrictions placed on companies that directly touch or service the plant itself.
The Company has already begun its alignment with global leaders in the phytopharmaceutical industry and with international clinical providers to expand its patient registry and data monetization opportunities. The Company anticipates it will achieve new revenues streams from its data assets by the end of 2019. Its strong clinical network has enabled the Company to develop new data-specific revenue channels from pharmaceutical and phytopharmaceutical companies seeking to develop clinical trials for both prospective and retrospective studies. These studies have since lead to the ability for manufacturers to better understand opportunities for developing safety and efficacy claims used in the registration process with regulators and insurance providers to support deeper product commercialization strategies. These new developments have validated the Company’s strategy to harness its network of patients and physicians thereby creating a vehicle for participation in clinical trials using necessary protocols and informed patient consent while enabling new revenue streams to complement the Company’s already profitable clinical business model.
“We continue our move to become the leading independent provider of clinical research and the industry’s premier data insights platform for clinically-led Real World Evidence studies,” said Prad Sekar, CEO, CB2 Insights. “Today pharmaceutical and phytopharmaceutical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on clinical trials and data to support their R&D and product commercialization efforts. We believe we are very well positioned to be a valuable and trusted source of data to support these efforts. We have been fortunate and appreciate the support of some of the largest institutional investors in the cannabis industry who are allowing us to grow aggressively and scale our business to profitability.”
The Company has been backed by leading institutional funds in the cannabis industry, including but not limited to, Merida Capital, Phyto Partners, Arcadian Fund, Cannabis Growth and Opportunity Corp and Quinsam Capital. Merida Capital, who previously led the Company’s go-public round with $3.7 million of the total $5.7 million capital raised, recently upsized their position in their promissory note to the Company in support of the Company’s continued drive to profitability and strategic growth opportunities that exist in the near-term. Merida has agreed to increase principal amount of the original promissory note from US$2,400,000, to US$3,000,000 and to extend the term of the note from June 2020 to December 2020. In addition, interest rate payable under the note has decreased from 15% to 12% per annum and will be payable in shares of Company based on a discounted rate. Interest accrued to June 6, 2019 will be paid with the issuance of 1,219,520 shares, subject to approval of the CSE. In addition, Merida has agreed to exchange the amended promissory note for a convertible debenture when the Company’s shares trade at or above $0.50, subject to CSE approval.
The Company looks forward to hosting shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Any presentation slides or other material containing any otherwise information not previously disclosed will be posted to the Company’s website at the close of the meeting.
