LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plandai Biotechnology Inc. (OTC Markets: PLPL) (the “Company” or
“Plandai”), a producer of nutraceutical and highly bioavailable extracts, today announced that its affiliate company, Protext
Pharma, Inc. (TXTM), held a meeting July 4th 2018 at the company’s office in White River, Mpumalanga, with senior Government staff
members of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) (formerly known as the Medicine Control Council-MCC).
The meetings included in-depth discussion of the company’s anticipated medical cannabis business in the country, site visit and
complete inspection of a large industrial building the company has secured and plans to use for growing, cultivating and extraction
of cannabis for medical research and development purposes. The completion of the facility site inspection is a big milestone
in the process of pursuing this government issued license, and is believed to be the final hurdle before Protext and one of its
subsidiaries is issued one of the first licenses in South Africa that will allow for establishing a research and development
platform for developing cannabis based medicines.
Commenting on the meeting, Plandaí Chief Operating Officer, Callum Cottrell-Duffield stated, “We understand that the site
inspection was successful, and the industrial building Protext secured was given the green light as a suitable facility for
building the medical cannabis operations. The anticipated license will allow Protext to legally grow cannabis and conduct
research for the purpose of producing a full profile non-psychoactive cannabis extract for medicinal use. Protext, which is an
affiliate company of Plandaí with Plandai owning a significant equity stake (60%), owns the exclusive license to create a
pharmaceutical cannabis extract using our proprietary extraction process. Prior human clinical trials have shown that
Plandai’s technology successfully increases the bioavailability of its extract 12-15 times compared to a generic extract.
Protext’s investigations will be designed to show that our extraction process, which will use live leaf and low temperatures to
extract the phyto-cannabinoids, should leave the acid forms of THC intact, resulting in a non-psychoactive extract with full
medicinal potential and having the heightened bioavailability of other Phytofare® extracts.”
Mr. Cottrell-Duffield added, “South Africa is one of only a few countries around the world medical cannabis has become legal on
a Federal level through government issued licenses. There is a growing body of evidence indicating cannabis can help regulate
the endocannabinoid system, which explains its perceived benefits for a host of ailments especially inflammation, depression,
post-traumatic stress, muscle spasticity, chronic pain, and other neural disorders. The cannabis business is a large and emerging
market anticipated to grow to $55.8 billion by 2025. Currently, arthritis affects more than one in four U.S. adults. Adjusted
estimates for 2015 suggest that arthritis prevalence in the U.S. has been substantially underestimated, especially among adults
younger than age 65. Based on adjusted estimates, 91.2 million U.S. adults either have doctor-diagnosed arthritis
and/or report joint symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of arthritis. Protext previously announced that the research focus will
initially be geared towards inflammation and, as a subset, chronic pain management. With the current opioid epidemic a topic of
serious concern, the Company believes that many health professionals and patients will welcome an alternative to addictive
medicine. Inflammation is the root of pain and discomfort many millions of people suffer from and live with on a daily basis
and has been shown to be part of the human endocannabinoid system. This means that it should respond well to a
high-bioavailable, full-profile cannabis medicine.
“This is an exciting time for both Companies as South Africa just recently joined a few select other countries around the world
that have opened the door to legally grow cannabis for medical purpose under a government issued license. Whereas, in the
United States and most other countries around the world, growing and researching cannabis is still illegal under Federal law.
Plandai has been operating in South Africa for years, having developed an expertise in the extraction of phytonutrients from live
plants, which we believe uniquely positions Protext through its subsidiary company to be issued a government license that will
employ Plandai patented extraction technology to a new and rapidly evolving market,” concluded Mr. Cottrell-Duffield.
About Plandai Biotechnology, Inc.
Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. (OTC Markets: PLPL) develops highly bioavailable, phytonutrient rich extracts which are being utilized to
deliver a new family of drugs to safely and affordably treat a multitude of diseases and conditions. Plandai Biotechnology, through
its South African subsidiaries, controls every aspect of production, from growing specific raw materials such as green tea on its
farms to producing its proprietary Phytofare extract, allowing the Company to guarantee the continuity of supply as well as quality
control throughout the entire process. The manufacturing facility has also been engineered for citrus fruits and the recovery of
Bioflavonoid and limonoids. Targeted industries for the Company's products include animal husbandry, dietary supplements and
diabetes. Plandai Biotechnology is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit: http://www.plandaibiotech.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of
assumptions about future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the
assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, we can give no assurance or guarantee that such expectations and assumptions
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conditions, competition, adverse federal, state and local government regulation, international governmental regulation, inadequate
capital, inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans, loss or retirement of key executives and other
specific risks. To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue
projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions,
events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements
contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the statements made. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. This
press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation.
Contact Information Marlin Molinaro Marmel Communications, LLC (623)231-5106 mmolinarofc@aol.com
