Flowr Corporation ships clones to fire up partner's cannabis operations in Aljustrel in Portugal

The Flowr Corporation (CVE:FLWR) (OTCQB:FLWPF) revealed Tuesday that it has received a Health Canada export permit allowing it to ship an initial batch of clones from its Kelowna Campus to Portugal to fire up its European partner, Holigen Holdings Limited’s cannabis operation in Aljustrel .   

Flowr operates large-scale, GMP-designed facilities that utilize proprietary growing methods to produce high-quality cannabis for recreational and medicinal use.

The Toronto-headquartered cannabis firm recently said it is raising C$43.5 million via a bought deal financing agreement to acquire the about 80% equity interest in Holigen Holdings Limited that it does not already own.

READ: Flowr inks deal to acquire rest of Holigen

Holigen’s subsidiary RPK Biopharma, Unipessoal Lda, has been greenlighted by Portugal’s National Authority for Medicines and Health Products, or INFARMED to plant cannabis at its Aljustrel project in Portugal.  

Flowr said it carried out an “intensive, nine-week” integrated pest management program to secure the phytosanitary certificates to ship the clones to Aljustrel. The company also has a clean stock protocol, which is a proprietary process to certify the company’s cannabis clones are free of pests and pathogens. 

Sending more shipments

Flowr noted that in the coming weeks it will deliver a “significantly larger” shipment of clones, which will position Aljustrel well for the planned 2019 planting and, ultimately, its first harvest later this year, pending final licensing.

Flowr CEO Vinay Tolia said: “INFARMED’s authorization to plant cannabis at Aljustrel is a major milestone in the development of this project, a cornerstone of our effort to service the global medical cannabis market. 

“Aljustrel is one of the largest outdoor THC cultivation licenses in the developed world, and will be instrumental in providing large-scale, low-cost cannabis extract for pharmaceutical APIs, as well as oils to service the European medical markets.”

Tolia noted that the team at Holigen had advanced the project to this stage in “an efficient manner.”

“This is a testament to their expertise in permitting and licensing. We look forward to bringing our cultivation expertise to this impressive opportunity, the first step of which constituted our successful initial shipment of healthy clones,” he added.

Aljustrel is a rapidly developing site for cannabis production, extraction, and manufacturing facilities in Portugal. It has been designated a project of national interest by the Portuguese government, a designation that cuts down bureaucratic red tape, allows for quick regulatory licensing, as well as access to funding.

Working closely with Holigen

Holigen Holdings Ltd is a European cannabis company developing large-scale GMP-compliant grow facilities in Portugal and Australia. Flowr’s strategic investment in Holigen provides the firm with the ability to dramatically increase global scale.

“Over the course of this year, we have worked closely with Holigen’s management to help develop their incredible assets, notably Aljustrel, their Portuguese outdoor cultivation facility,” said Flowr CEO Tolia.

Aljustrel, which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2019, is a planned seven-million-square-foot outdoor cultivation footprint with an expected ability to produce over 500,000 kilos annually.

Holigen is in the process of receiving all required licenses to operate the Aljustrel site in Portugal.

Flowr’s flagship Kelowna production facility, currently under development, is expected to produce over 50,000-square kilograms of premium flower annually once fully operational.

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive 

Story by ProactiveInvestors