JohnCM
9 years ago
T-Bird Pharma Inc. Announces Partnership with Medna Biosciences Inc.
PR Newswire (Canada)
VICTORIA, March 11, 2015 /CNW/ - T-Bird Pharma Inc. (TSXV:TPI) ("T-Bird" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing premium quality medical marijuana products and a licensed producer ("LP") to cultivate marijuana under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Canada) ("MMPR"), is pleased to announce that it, together with certain of its shareholders, has entered into an agreement with Medna Biosciences Inc. ("Medna") whereby Medna will acquire (the "Escrow Transfer") a total of 20,156,790 common shares of T-Bird (45% of the Company's issued shares) from five of its founding shareholders, including its former CEO and CFO, at a price of $0.21 per share. This block of shares is currently held in escrow and the shares will be transferred within escrow and remain bound by those terms and conditions. The Escrow Transfer is subject to TSX-V approval.
Medna is a privately held company building a portfolio of diversified assets in the medical marijuana space. The founder and Chairman of Medna and its largest shareholder, Dr. Avtar Dhillon, will join the Board of T-Bird as Chairman on the closing of the Escrow Transfer. Joining him on the Board of T-Bird will be Jim Heppell, CEO of Medna, and Punit Dhillon, currently CEO of OncoSec Medical (OTCQB:ONCS). Stepping down from the Board of T-Bird will be Frank Barr, Dr. Essam Hamza and Dr. Bin Huang. David Raffa will continue as a director of T-Bird but will step down as Chairman in favour of Dr. Dhillon. Dr. Huang will maintain her role as CEO of T-Bird.
Dr. Dhillon served as President and CEO of Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) from October 2001 to June 2009, as President and Chairman of Inovio from June 2009 until October 2009, as Executive Chairman until August 2011, and as Chairman from September 2011. During his tenure at Inovio, Dr. Dhillon led the successful turnaround of the company through a restructuring, acquisition of technology from several European and North American companies, and a merger with VGX Pharmaceuticals to develop a vertically integrated DNA vaccine development company. Dr. Dhillon led multiple successful financings for Inovio, raising over $200 million for the company, and concluded several licensing deals that included multinational companies, Merck and Wyeth (now Pfizer). Dr. Dhillon has served as Chairman of the Board of OncoSec since March 2011 and of Arch Therapeutics since April 2013.
Prior to joining Inovio, Dr. Dhillon held roles of increasing responsibility with MDS Capital Corp. (now Lumira Capital Corp.), one of North America's leading healthcare venture capital organizations, from the period of August 1998 until September 2001.
"I am pleased to welcome Dr. Dhillon, whom I have known for many years, to our Board. Dr. Dhillon is an experienced, proven life science entrepreneur with strong capital markets experience who has built a number of successful companies. He will make a great Chairman of T-Bird going forward and has my full support," noted Raffa. "I am excited to join the T-Bird team and look for ways to grow the opportunity from the base they have built. We have a number of exciting opportunities we are looking at and I am committed to making T-Bird a success for all of its shareholders," noted Dr. Dhillon.
Jim Heppell, CEO of Medna, was a co-founder of BC Advantage Funds (along with David Raffa) where he was a fund manager managing a portfolio of life science companies. In 2006, Advantage's investment in Aspreva Pharmaceuticals, led by Jim, won Canadian Venture Capital Deal of the Year for having the highest realized return (23.4X) of any venture capital fund in Canada. During his career Jim has participated in building a number of successful life science companies including Aspreva (acquired by Galenica for approximately $1B) and Inovio.
Punit Dhillon is the co-founder and CEO of OncoSec Medical, a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced-stage immunotherapy to treat solid tumors. Punit was formerly VP, Finance & Operations at Inovio. In his management experience, Punit has raised over $160 million through multiple financings and several licensing deals including early stage transactions with Merck and Wyeth. More recently, Punit has been leading the development of a pipeline of novel immunotherapy candidates for a wide range of solid tumor applications at OncoSec. In 2013, he was recognized as one of the "Top 100" CEOs by PharmaVoice and the "Most Admired CEO" by the San Diego Business Journal. In 2014, he was recognized as a finalist for Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year."
"I would also like to welcome Jim and Punit to our Board and thank our two outgoing directors, Frank Barr and Dr. Essam Hamza, for their service to the company. They provided considerable value in their brief tenure, and we are very appreciative of them making their seats available to accommodate the new board members", added Raffa. "Since taking this company public we have looked to continue to add proven entrepreneurs to our team and this represents another step in that direction. This positions the company well for its next stage of growth."
The incoming directors will be granted a total of 1,500,000 options exercisable at the market closing price. The option grant is subject to the closing of the Escrow Transfer and TSX Venture Exchange approval.
JohnCM
9 years ago
About T-Bird and Thunderbird
T-Bird Pharma Inc. is the parent company of Thunderbird Biomedical Inc., a wholly owned private subsidiary formed in January, 2013. The principal activities of Thunderbird are the production of marijuana from its Victoria, British Columbia production facility, as regulated by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Canada). Thunderbird obtained a medical marijuana license to undertake the production of medical marijuana in February 2014, being the fifth company in Canada to obtain such a license. Thunderbird was acquired by T-Bird in September, 2013.
OTCRIDER
9 years ago
T-Bird Pharma Inc, a Canadian pharmaceutical company, is considered the first in British Columbia to become a publicly traded medical marijuana firm. The company’s primary subsidiary, Thunderbird Biomedical Inc, is also one of the first in Canada to get a production license under the country’s Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR).
Producing premium high-grade medicinal marijuana, T-Bird Pharma currently has a portfolio of more than 60 cannabis strains. This includes some well-known strains such as Island Honey, Blue Gold, and Pink Kush.
T-Bird’s alpha cannabis facility is operated by Thunderbird Biomedical and is situated in Saanich, Victoria. The facility covers 3,178 square feet, which may produce and sell – as per its Health Canada license – a maximum of 243 kg of dried marijuana. Thunderbird Biomedical is the fifth Canadian company to obtain this license.
A second facility of T-Bird Pharma is also located in Victoria, British Columbia. Of this 43,500-square foot facility, some 28,966 square feet will be for floor space and there is also an option for a mezzanine space of 14,500 square feet. Thunderbird has started infrastructure preparations in this facility, aiming to have Health Canada inspect it by the first quarter of 2015.
T-Bird Pharma Inc was founded in 2007 under the name Firebird Capital Partners. It also operated as Firebird Energy, Inc, exploring properties of natural gas and oil in Western Canada. After a recent reverse takeover, the company became T-Bird Pharma Inc in August 2014.
T-Bird Pharma is now traded as TPI in the TSX Venture Exchange, having a market cap of CAD 6.95 M.
Key executives at T-Bird Pharma include Founder and CEO Robert Gagnon, VP of Operations Rick Morris, VP of Quality Assurance Karen Parent, and CFO Chris Taylor.
http://www.bestmedicalmarijuanastocks.com/t-bird-pharma/
JohnCM
9 years ago
T-Bird Pharma Inc. Appoints Dr. Bin Huang as President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
T Bird Pharma (TSXV:TPI)
Today : Monday 1 December 2014
Click Here for more T Bird Pharma Charts.
VICTORIA, Dec. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - T-Bird Pharma Inc. (TSXV:TPI) ("T-Bird" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing premium quality medical marijuana products and a licensed producer ("LP") under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Canada) ("MMPR"), is pleased to announce that Dr. Bin Huang has joined the Company as President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr Huang joins the Company as a key part of its growth and commercialization strategy.
Dr. Huang began her career as a Research Scientist with Allelix Crop Technologies focusing on improving canola growth traits such as yield and disease-tolerance. She has also worked at GMP Securities as a Partner and top-ranked Biotech analyst. Dr Huang's management experience includes serving as President & CEO of Cytovax Biotechnologies Inc. and WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., both of which were Canadian public companies engaged in the development of pharmaceutical products. As CEO of WEX, Dr. Huang led the clinical development of Tetrodotoxin for cancer pain under the auspices of both the FDA and Health Canada, oversaw drug manufacturing in Canada and Asia, and secured commercial agreements with pharma partners. With both WEX and Cytovax, she was responsible for raising both private and public capital, managing capital markets relationships and ensuring public company compliance.
Dr. Huang received her Ph.D in Plant Cell Biology from the University of East Anglia, UK, her MBA from the University of Toronto and her BSc in Plant Genetics from Wuhan University, China.
Noted Dr. Huang, "I am very excited to join a company that has a strong foothold in this new and growing industry, and in particular one that wants to bring a strong pharmaceutical approach to its business. I am very impressed by how much the founding team has accomplished in such a short period of time and in an extremely cost effective manner. Capital efficiency and maintaining margins will be paramount as Medical Marijuana companies go to scale."
"I am very pleased to be able to attract someone with Bin's skill set to join our growing team. Her operational experience as a pharma executive having overseen the building and operating of clean rooms, as well as clinical trials under both the FDA and Health Canada will be invaluable as we scale up in 2015," said Rob Gagnon, CEO and Founder. Added David Raffa, Chairman, "Bin brings a wealth of experience to our team. Her combination of a PhD in plant science and an MBA make her an excellent candidate for our company, and her having worked both as a Life Sciences analyst and as CEO of two publicly traded life science companies brings added capital markets expertise. Her skills complement the skills of our existing team."
Concurrent with her appointment, the Company is granting to Dr. Huang 600,000 stock options at a price of $0.56 per share, vesting over three years.
Dr. Huang has also been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company replacing Chris Taylor, the Company's CFO. Mr. Taylor will continue in his capacity as CFO and Corporate Secretary of the Company.
About T-Bird and Thunderbird
T-Bird Pharma Inc. is the parent company of Thunderbird Biomedical Inc., a wholly owned private subsidiary formed in January, 2013. The principal activities of Thunderbird are the production of marijuana from its Victoria, British Columbia production facility, as regulated by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Canada). Thunderbird obtained a medical marijuana license to undertake the production of medical marijuana in February 2014, being the fifth company in Canada to obtain such a license. Thunderbird was acquired by T-Bird in September, 2013.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Robert Gagnon"
CEO and Director
JohnCM
10 years ago
Posted on 13 October 2014 by Charlotte McLeod
Licensed Canadian Medical Marijuana Producers: Part 2
Canada’s 13 licensed medical marijuana producers are now the only legal source of medical marijuana in the country. Each is licensed by Health Canada and has met a stringent set of security requirements to be able to cultivate and sell the drug.
In August, we looked at six of these companies — now we’ll discuss the other seven. Investors interested in joining the medical marijuana space should note that three of these companies, Tweed, ThunderBird and OrganiGram, are subsidiaries of public companies.
MedReleaf
MedReleaf expects to serve 10,000 patients by the end of this year, according to the Financial Post, and by expanding its facilities hopes to serve 100,000 within the next few years .
The company has a partnership with Israeli firm Tikun Olam, which leads the field in medical cannabis research. It is the largest producer of medical marijuana in Israel, and MedReleaf has access to its proprietary varieties. Tikun Olam also has a large patient treatment experience database that MedReleaf can access.
Trimmings of MedReleaf varieties start at $2.50 per gram, and its lowest-cost single strain costs $5 per gram.
OrganiGram
OrganiGram produces organic medical marijuana that is tailored to specific conditions, including nausea, anxiety, spasticity and chronic pain, at its growing facility in Moncton, New Brunswick. The company OrganiGram Holdings (TSXV:OGI) is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange, and the actual producing company, OrganiGram, is its wholly owned subsidiary.
On September 2, the company shipped its first orders of medical marijuana to patients after passing product testing under Health Canada guidelines.
OrganiGram’s strains start at $6 per gram.
The Peace Naturals Project
The Peace Naturals Project works to produce marijuana through organic and sustainable means, and has a special focus on community education about medical marijuana.
The company placed in the top three for the high-CBD strains category of the Canadian Cannabis Awards with its Nina strain, according to a news release. It also won third place among sativa strains with its Happy Feet strain.
The company’s strains start at $4.50 per gram.
Thunderbird Biomedical
Thunderbird Biomedical has been licensed to produce medical marijuana since February 2014, and is the first facility on Vancouver Island. The wholly owned subsidiary of T-Bird Pharma (TSXV:TPI) is a pre-revenue company, and was incorporated in 2013 to produce and sell medical marijuana. Its current license is valid through early February 2015 for an amount of up to 243 kilograms.
On September 22, T-Bird Pharma announced that Thunderbird Biomedical had signed a lease for a second facility in Victoria, BC, and that the building should have its first Health Canada inspection in the first quarter of 2015. The site will serve as an expansion of the business after the company perfects its manufacturing processes at its current facility, according to the release.
ThunderBird doesn’t yet sell medical marijuana.
Tilray
Tilray, which is currently shipping its product and is open to new patients, produces a variety of strains of medical marijuana, and aims to create consistent, genetically verified strains for patients to use. To achieve this goal, the company employs botanists and master gardeners with extensive industry experience in medical marijuana and other agricultural sciences.
The process Tilray uses to produce its marijuana strains spans from genetic research to growing and testing for contaminants and mold. Tilray is an approved provider with Veterans Affairs Canada and offers direct billing for approved patients.
Prices for Tilray’s strains start at $8 per gram.
Tweed
Tweed is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tweed Marijuana (TSXV:TWD), a company that trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. It supplies marijuana strains that treat a wide variety of symptoms, from seizures to loss of appetite, from its eight-building facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Tweed began operations in 2013, and is now shipping to its many patients — it even has a waiting list of many more.
Tweed is often in the news for its growing operation and its product. Most recently, Tweed was featured in WWLP for having the world’s largest marijuana growing operation, once it expands into the entirety of its space.
“We bring them in as cuttings and starter plants, we transplant them and then we are going to grow them onto finishing flower height,” the head grower told WWLP.
Tweed’s strains start at $5 per gram.
Whistler Medical Marijuana
Whistler Medical Marijuana is currently producing, and has reached its capacity for patients at its current facility. The company is in the process of expanding its production facilities and expects to be able to accommodate more patients soon.The company focuses on small harvests of crops and organic growing processes.
The company produces three strains of marijuana that start at a price of $10 per gram.
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