TORONTO, Dec. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX: LABS) (OTCQB: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) ("MediPharm", "MediPharm Labs" or the "Company") a pharmaceutical company specialized in precision-based cannabinoids, today announced an update regarding its Board of Directors and employee stock issuance. 

Effective immediately Miriam McDonald has resigned from her position from the Board of Directors. As a founding board member of MediPharm Labs Ms. McDonald has been instrumental in guiding the company through many strategic decisions including, a go-public transaction, establishing leadership in the pharmaceutical cannabis space and multiple strategic capital raises. The Company thanks Ms. McDonald for her time and dedication to the Company over the past five years. 

With this change MediPharm Labs will continue with five board members, including four independents. The reduction in the number Board members reflects the overall right sizing of the business which the Company has aggressively undertaken in 2023.

The Company also announced today that in accordance with its annual Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP") it has granted, effective December 22, 2023, 15.48 million stock options and 16.09 million restricted share units (both each, a "Unit"). The award to certain directors, officers and employees of the Company was related to the Company's LTIP program for 2023 and 2024. Each option is exercisable into one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") at a price of $0.065 per Share, being the closing price of the Shares on the TSX on December 20, 2022. All Units will vest in two installments over 6 and 12 months and options will expire 5 years from the date of the grant. 

This grant makes up part of the performance related compensation and retention incentives anticipated by the Company's LTIP.

Founded in 2015, MediPharm Labs specializes in the development and manufacture of purified, pharmaceutical-quality cannabis concentrates, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and advanced derivative products utilizing a Good Manufacturing Practices certified facility with ISO standard-built clean rooms. MediPharm Labs has invested in an expert, research driven team, state-of-the-art technology, downstream purification methodologies and purpose-built facilities for delivery of pure, trusted and precision-dosed cannabis products for its customers. MediPharm Labs develops, formulates, processes, packages and distributes cannabis and advanced cannabinoid-based products to domestic and international medical markets.

In 2021, MediPharm Labs received a Pharmaceutical Drug Establishment License from Health Canada, becoming the only company in North America to hold a commercial scale domestic Good Manufacturing License for the extraction of multiple natural cannabinoids. This GMP license was the first step in the Company's current foreign drug manufacturing site registration with the US FDA.

In 2023, MediPharm acquired VIVO Cannabis Inc. which expanded MediPharm's reach to medical patients in Canada via Canna Farms medical ecommerce platform, and in Australia and Germany through Beacon Medical PTY and Beacon Medical GMBH. This acquisition also included Harvest Medical Clinics in Canada which provides medical cannabis patients with Physician consultations for medical cannabis education and prescriptions.

The Company carries out its operations in compliance with all applicable laws in the countries in which it operates.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, MediPharm's access to and unique position in the international medical market, right sizing of MediPharm's business operations and costs, and MediPharm's unique Pharma expertise. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the inability of MediPharm Labs to obtain adequate financing; the delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; and other factors discussed in MediPharm Labs' filings, available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, MediPharm Labs assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.