Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE:OILS) (OTCQB:OILFF) announced that the Israeli Patent Office has granted it a patent for its foundational process for producing low-cost cannabis distillate, the company's fifth issued extraction patent in Israel.
The firm said it believes global patent protection is a key aspect of developing defendable intellectual property (IP) around the most efficient methods for producing high-purity THC and CBD oils within a regulated environment.
With the medical cannabis market in Israel continuing to grow along with the tailwind of legalization, Nextleaf views Israel as a key jurisdiction for cannabinoid IP rights. In December 2020, Israel signed a regulatory amendment permitting the use of CBD in cosmetics and food products.
According to the Israeli Medical Cannabis Association, there are over 71,000 legal medical cannabis patients, in addition to an estimated $2 Billion in illicit cannabis consumption in Israel.
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"This Israeli patent is a validation of our technology and is significant in achieving our vision of developing IP that improves cannabis oil economics globally," said Paul Pedersen, CEO of Nextleaf Solutions in a statement.
Nextleaf owns one of the largest portfolios of issued US patents related to cannabis extraction and has been issued patents in Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, South Africa, Cambodia, Israel, Germany, the UK and across Europe.
The company is focused on commercializing its portfolio of issued and pending patents through licensing of IP (royalties), processing services, and bulk sales of CBD and THC oils to qualified Canadian and international partners.
Nextleaf also said it has issued an aggregate of 383,428 common shares at a price of $0.285 per share, representing an aggregate value of $109,277, to consultants of the company, as compensation for services provided. The company has also issued an aggregate of 560,000 stock options to the non-executive employees, each option exercisable for five years at an exercise price of $0.35.
The company is a low-cost producer of cannabis distillate and private label THC & CBD oils through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nextleaf Labs Ltd. The group's automated closed-loop extraction plant in Metro Vancouver has a design capacity to process 600 kilos of dried cannabis into oil per day.
Nextleaf Labs holds Health Canada licenses for standard processing and research, allowing for a number of licenced activities including sensory evaluation of cannabis via human testing. The company owns 12 issued U.S. patents and 70 issued patents globally.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com