WEEDMD PARTNERS WITH CANNTX LIFE SCIENCES TO ENHANCE GENETICS BANK OF NEW CULTIVARS AND PRESERVE ITS ELITE PROPRIETARY CANNABIS STRAINS
WeedMD Inc. has partnered with Guelph-based CannTx Life Sciences Inc. to add new cultivars to its genetic bank and expand the life cycle of the company's prized cannabis cultivars using cutting-edge tissue culture techniques via Steadystem Solutions. Tissue culture is an innovative and widely-recognized practice in agriculture used for preserving plant integrity, crop health and genetic accuracy. Under the Steadystem program, nodal segment cultures are collected from WeedMD's mother plants and regenerated using an in-vitro platform to re-produce historical cannabinoid and terpene profiles.
"WeedMD is recognized for its diverse genetics library and its expertise in producing premium strains under a world-class cultivation platform," said Curtis Wallace, Head of Cultivation at WeedMD. "It's imperative that we proactively take steps to protect our valuable assets with tissue culture innovation as we also look to introduce new cultivars into our genetics bank and product lines."
"Investing in the longevity and security of our strains provides added assurance that we are accurately cloning from the healthiest plants," said Dr. Alexandre Sibilev, Vice President, Quality Assurance, Global Regulatory Compliance at WeedMD. "This precision cultivation gives us an opportunity to maintain our germplasm clean of contaminants and protected from phenotypic degradation."
"We're excited to partner with an innovative industry leader in WeedMD. By preserving their genetic assets and ensuring their integrity, WeedMD will be able to consistently and perpetually grow the same great products on which they've built a solid reputation," said Mike Abbott, President/CEO and Co-Founder of CannTx. "We applaud forward-looking cultivators like WeedMD that are taking a proactive approach to protecting their operations, brands, and bottom line."
In addition to expanding WeedMD's genetics bank and cultivars' lifecycle with its rejuvenation techniques, the Steadystem tissue culture platform also banks genetic material for secure storage and plant asset preservation.
In other developments, WeedMD also announced that in accordance with the provisions of its deferred share unit plan (the "DSU Plan") its Board of Directors has authorized the grant of an aggregate of 2,688,314 deferred share units ("DSUs") to certain directors and officers of the Company. The purpose of the DSU Plan is to promote greater alignment of interests between the Company's shareholders and directors while reducing the cash expense of compensating its directors. Of the DSUs granted 1,441,647 will vest immediately, 623,334 will vest on December 8, 2020, and 623,333 will vest on June 8, 2021. In addition, the Board of Directors has authorized the grant of options to employees company-wide as part of WeedMD's employee compensation plan. Further details regarding the DSU Plan are available in the Company's management information circular dated June 19, 2020, which is available on SEDAR.