Neptune Receives Confirmation of Readiness Letter from Health Canada In Regard To Its Application To Become A Licensed Producer Under The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations

Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. ("Neptune" or the "Corporation") (((NASDAQ &ndash, TSX:NEPT) today announced that it has received a Confirmation of Readiness letter from Health Canada in regard to its application to become a Licensed Producer under the ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations).
Health Canada's positive response marks another important regulatory step forward to obtaining Neptune's licence to produce cannabis oil supporting our timeline to commence commercialization this fiscal year. Neptune will notify Health Canada in the coming days and provide all additional required evidence to the agency to demonstrate the Corporation's readiness to commence production. Upon satisfactory review by Health Canada of any additional information submitted by Neptune, the Corporation would receive its licence for cannabis extraction.
"This key milestone brings us to the threshold of becoming a Licensed Producer of cannabis oil in Canada, and is a very exciting moment," said Jim Hamilton, President & CEO of Neptune. "Our entry into the legal cannabis industry leverages our established expertise in the development of innovative Omega3 oil products, navigating global regulatory frameworks, worldwide commercialization of wellness solutions, and production of high-quality extracts, as well as our state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-certified facility in Sherbrooke, truly providing us with a strong competitive edge to become a leading player in this burgeoning market".
On August 14, 2018, Neptune announced the completion of its Phase I Investment of $5 million (CAD) in site security and equipment. This investment allows Neptune to make its GMP-certified Sherbrooke, Québec facility ready and compliant for the extraction of cannabis and production of cannabis oil. Neptune also recently began work on Phase II capacity expansion with a capital expenditure budget of $4.8 million (CAD). This next phase is expected to be completed the first quarter of calendar 2019 and will increase the total processing capacity to approximately 200,000 kg of dried cannabis using advanced extraction processes.