Good news. US Market. CSE: CANN) (OTCQX: HERTF) (“Heritage” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce it has signed an expansion of its US supply and distribution agreement (the “Agreement”) with Geocann LLC (“Geocann”) for a select portfolio of oral and topical cannabinoid products utilizing the patented VESIsorb®delivery system technology for optimized absorption, bioavailability, and therapeutic benefits. The expansion of the Agreement now includes strategic channels in the Canadian marketplace that are currently accessible via the Canadian Cannabis Act as well as a platform for growth as regulatory conditions continue to develop.
Heritage, through its U.S. subsidiary Opticann, signed a supply and distribution agreement in 2020 to exclusively brand and market a select portfolio of VESIsorb® formulated oral and topical CBD and CBG products to major U.S. retailers, including CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Kroger, Costco and Walmart.
“Obtaining the distribution rights for select VESIsorb®products in Canada adds to our fast-growing suite of retail and medical product offerings across the country,” commented Umar Syed, President of Heritage’s Medical and International business. “With this agreement, we will leverage the significant scientific research, customer targeting, market planning and branding activity underway for large U.S. retailers to market these medical CBD products in Canada. These are highly differentiated products with published data to support their utility for medical applications. Our portfolio of VESIsorb® formulated products is designed to fulfill the unmet needs of sophisticated consumers and healthcare professionals who are demanding science-backed and clinically proven cannabinoid product offerings.”
VESIsorb® is a leading, innovative delivery system technology for dramatically improving the stability absorption, and bioavailability of natural ingredients like cannabinoids, and is backed by a robust body of supporting scientific evidence spanning several decades. Most recently, the peer reviewed journal, Molecules, published the results of a double-blind, cross-over study (Molecules 2019,24(16), 2967; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24162967) comparing the pharmacokinetic performance of a CBD extract formulated with VESIsorb® to that of the same CBD extract formulated with industry standard (MCT) oil. Overall, the VESIsorb® formulation showed statistically significant improvements for all measured parameters, including much higher total absorption (a 440% increase in maximum plasma CBD concentration (Cmax), and a 285% increase in total CBD exposure over 8 hours [area under the curve (AUC)]) and the time to reach the peak concentration 300% faster than the standard formulation (1 hour for VESIsorb® versus 3 hours for the standard to reach Tmax).
“Geocann is pleased to expand our agreement with Heritage as their leadership team has a proven track record of pioneering innovative cannabis products with strong brands and a strategic distribution infrastructure,” said Jesse Lopez, CEO and founder of Geocann. “We look forward to supporting their efforts in the U.S. and Canada by building on the supporting scientific evidence of the superiority of VESIsorb® formulated cannabis products with new PK studies for cannabinoids and terpenes, topical penetration and permeation studies, and clinical end-points studies – all of which are currently underway.”