Organigram Secures Health Canada Approval for 17 New Cultivation Rooms

Organigram Holdings (TSXV: OGI) (NASDAQ: OGI) announced this morning that the company has received Health Canada approval for 17 new cannabis cultivation rooms at the perimeter of their Phase 4A/4B building. 13 of the 31 originally planned Phase 4A cultivation rooms have already been licensed.

Cultivation room 31 which was previously planned for Phase 4A is being moved to their 4B licensing plans. Organigram has adjusted its Phase 4A from 31 to 30 rooms and Phase 4B from 32 rooms to 33.

Organigram’s new cultivation room approval is set to increase the company’s licensed production capacity by 14,000 kg/yr to a total of 61,000 kg/yr. The aforementioned move from Phase 4A to 4B caused the company to lose 1,000 kg/yr in production capacity but overall is expected to optimize licensing and construction scheduling.

“Sustainable growth, exceptional quality, and constant innovation are the pillars of our overall strategic approach,” explains Greg Engel, CEO, Organigram. “We are proud to continue to increase our physical capacity to meet the needs of cannabis consumers across the country while also bringing new thinking and technology to our production.”

In response to Organigram’s new Health Canada approval, the company will immediately begin moving plants on a rolling basis to the new cultivation rooms. Based on historical cultivation timelines, product is expected to be harvested from these rooms by the end of September with dried flower being shipped to customers as early as mid-fall of 2019.

Organigram anticipates they will receive Health Canada approval for their license amendment submissions for the remaining 33 Phase 4B cultivation rooms on a continuous basis as they replicate their successful plan used on the company’s Phase 2, 3 and 4A expansions.

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Organigram’s Phase 4 expansion:

Represents a combined 77,000 kg of additional annual capacity.
Will be completed in a series of stages.
- 4A: 25,000 kg
- 4B: 28,000 kg
- 4C: 24,000 kg
Final construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
The fully licensed and operational expansion is expected to bring Organigram’s annual target production capacity to 113,000 kg.

“Organigram’s continued expansion reflects ongoing growth in the cannabis marketplace, including increasing demand as new retail stores come online in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia,” explains Engel. “The expansion of our facility and production capacity will help ensure we have additional product for extraction for the launch of the edibles and derivatives market before the end of 2019.”

Organigram’s Phase 5 refurbishment of their edibles and derivatives facility is moving forward and will provide additional in-house extraction capacity.

About Organigram Holdings:

Organigram Holdings Inc. is a NASDAQ Global Select and TSX Venture Exchange listed company whose wholly owned subsidiary, Organigram Inc., is a licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in Canada.

Organigram is focused on producing high-quality, indoor-grown cannabis for patients and adult recreational consumers in Canada, as well as developing international business partnerships to extend the Company’s global footprint. Organigram has also developed a portfolio of legal adult use recreational cannabis brands including The Edison Cannabis Company, Ankr Organics, Trailer Park Buds and Trailblazer. Organigram’s primary facility is located in Moncton, New Brunswick and the Company is regulated by the Cannabis Act and the Cannabis Regulations (Canada).

Read the full Organigram press release