AgraFlora Subsidiary Farmako Receives Special License Permitting the Sale of Irradiated Medical Cannabis

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AgraFlora Organics International Inc. (“AgraFlora” or the “Company”) (CSE: AGRA) (Frankfurt: PU31) (OTCPK: AGFAF), a growth oriented and diversified international cannabis company, is pleased to announce that the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Farmako GmbH (“Farmako”) has secured a special authorization from the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (“BfArM”) for the distribution of medical cannabis flowers that have undergone an ionizing radiation treatment (the “AMRadV License”). This is a critical milestone for Farmako, as the German medical cannabis wholesaler will now be able to import for sale in Germany medical cannabis that is EU-GMP certified, but which has been subject to sterilization by irradiation. To date, the German medical cannabis marketplace has been undersupplied due to a number of factors including the general scarcity of EU-GMP certified cannabis flowers available in the international market. The supply shortage is made worse because many EU-GMP exporting jurisdictions, such as Canada, commonly require the use of microbial sterilization prior to sale. Without the AMRadV License, such sterilized cannabis could not be made available for sale in Germany’s medical cannabis program.

“By securing the AMRadV license, Farmako can now solve one of the biggest bottlenecks affecting growth: access to EU-GMP certified medical cannabis flowers,” said Katrin Eckmans, Chief Executive Officer of Farmako. “We are now one of only a small group of companies that may import and distributed sterilized cannabis flowers in Germany. This is a significant advantage for Farmako vs its peers that do not hold the AMRadV License due to sterilized EU-GMP cannabis flower being more available for import than EU-GMP cannabis flower that has not been sterilized. With the license in hand we are now well positioned to access increased international supply and take advantage of the massive growth of demand for medical cannabis in Germany.”

Being one of a limited group of German companies with the AMRadV License and a growing network of 19,800 German pharmacies servicing over 100,000 patients, Farmako is well positioned for success in the German market. Germany’s medical cannabis market is estimated to be Europe’s largest medical cannabis markets and has the potential to develop into one of the world’s largest marketplaces for medical cannabis in the coming years.¹ Furthermore, expanded access to medical cannabis supply from a variety of source destinations as permitted by the AMRadV License, will allow Farmako to continue to position itself as a competitive pharmaceutical wholesaler; ensuring sustainable access to medical cannabis products for patients within the German marketplace.