International Cannabis and Wayland to Begin Integration of European Extraction and Distillation Processes; to Process 125,000 kg of CBD Flower  

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ICC International Cannabis Corp. (CSE:WRLD.U) (8K51.F) (WLDCF) ("ICC" or “International Cannabis” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that further to the signed Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with Wayland Group Corp. (CSE:WAYL)(75M.F)(MRRCF) (“Wayland”) (see ICC news release dated January 15, 2019), the companies will begin integration of its extraction and distillation processes, in addition to finished dose manufacturing of CBD products for the European market.

Wayland's 125,000 kg supply of CBD flowers for extraction will be processed in International Cannabis’ Polannabis operations and finished into distillate. Leveraging Wayland's patented Vesisorb formulations, Cosmos Holdings will then manufacture finished dose CBD products, including oral tablets in its EU-GMP certified facilities in Greece. Wayland's patented Vesisorb formulations have been demonstrated to increase absorption of fat-soluble drugs by up to seven times, compared to those without.

The expedited integration of operations, to take advantage of Wayland's existing supply and ICC's EU-GMP certified operations for finished dose manufacturing will lead to efficiencies in production, and dramatically reduce cost of goods; boosting profitability. The expedited nature of the operational integration increases speed to market and takes advantage of Cosmos’ vast existing distribution channels.

Eugene Beukman, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of International Cannabis, stated: “The integration of extraction and distillation processes is one of the many synergies we will see with Wayland's involvement in International Cannabis. Wayland’s team of experienced pharmaceutical professionals, including European GM Morten Lars Brandt, formerly the VP of Medium Size Markets at Amsterdam based Norgine brings integration capabilities of all operations from an experienced team that has accomplished this previously.

Wayland has cultivated a highly experienced European operations team, which boasts upstream, downstream, logistics, construction and distribution capabilities. Wayland operations team is equipped with a roster of leading healthcare executive, as well as branding, agriculture and logistical specialists. This initial operational integration will signal to the marketplace that International Cannabis is positioned to operate world-class cannabis production facilities and distribution networks”

The Company is also pleased to announce that Wayland has completed site visits for International Cannabis’ Greece and Colombia assets; with operations exceeding expectations. Additional site visits to all other operations will completed within the next two weeks.

Commencement of the knowledge transfer process has also begun for International Cannabis’ assets in Denmark, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Portugal. The expedited nature of the knowledge transfer process will allow Wayland’s operations team to aggressively begin championing the advancement of International Cannabis’ existing cannabis and CBD operations.

“Flexible, functional, competent cross-functional teams, GMP manufacturing, shared resources, Greek domestic and EU activities across several healthcare sectors should make integration of cannabis relatively simple, and significantly enhance timeline to execute,” stated Terry Fretz, Wayland President and former President of Watson Pharmaceuticals Canada following his site visit to Cosmos’ operations in Greece.  

“Consistent with our position that emerging markets will be best developed where local talent participates, Cosmos Holdings seems well poised to successfully partner with, and execute on the development of the cannabis sector within the emerging Greek/EU markets. Disciplines in multiple aspects of their businesses are in place including R&D, Regulatory, Manufacturing (GMP), Marketing and Distribution, adding to our existing talent base and operational platform,” continued Fretz. 

International Cannabis has formally commenced the executive recruitment process for a seasoned capital markets Chairman and CEO. International Cannabis has engaged a leading global executive recruitment firm to assist with the recruitment process. The Company expects to begin initial discussions with qualified candidates in the coming weeks.

International Cannabis is working aggressively toward a rapid closing of the purchase of 49.9% of Wayland's International assets, which are being spun out into a subsidiary.  

International Cannabis operates in nine jurisdictions and Wayland operates in nine jurisdictions, bringing total operations to 18 geographies, all with a central function to supply cannabis to the global market.