NAPANEE, Ontario, Dec. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO, OTCQX: VVCIF) (“VIVO” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Andreas Sander as President, European Operations, and Managing Director of ABcann Germany GmbH, VIVO’s German subsidiary. Mr. Sander will assume the position effective January 1, 2019.
Mr. Sander has accumulated a wealth of leadership experience in the 25 years he has spent in the European pharmaceutical industry. He has held multiple VP and managing director roles with multinational pharmaceutical companies in Western and Eastern Europe, including executive positions at Boston Healthcare International, Sanofi Pasteur, ALK-Abelló and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. His diverse expertise includes: operational leadership with full P&L responsibility in multiple countries and across various therapeutic areas; marketing strategy and sales execution in established markets; the European launch of multiple new products; the execution of European tender and compliance strategies; and a history of building high performance teams.
We are thrilled to have Andreas join our leadership team. Executing on our European strategy is one of our key mid-term corporate objectives and he has the experience and entrepreneurial drive to help us achieve our goals. Andreas’s specialized expertise in the highly-regulated European pharmaceutical sector will be critical in helping us expand our operations in Europe in 2019.
Barry Fishman, Chief Executive Officer of VIVO
As VIVO’s President, European Operations, Mr. Sander is expected to lead the Company’s burgeoning German activities and oversee the expansion of its operations into multiple European markets.
Mr. Sander graduated from Berlin University and is a registered pharmacist. He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has corporate governance designations from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and from the Deutsche Börse (German Stock Exchange).
In connection with Mr. Sander’s appointment, the Company has agreed to grant Mr. Sander 300,000 stock options, each of which will be exercisable into one common share in the capital of the Company until December 17, 2023 at a price of $0.76 per share, being the closing price per share on the TSX Venture Exchange on December 17, 2018. The options will vest quarterly over 36 months.
About VIVO Cannabis™
VIVO, based in Napanee, Ontario, is recognized for trusted, high-quality products and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor cultivation facilities with proprietary plant-growing technology. VIVO has a collection of premium brands targeting unique customer segments, including Beacon Medical™, FIRESIDE™, Canna Farms™ and Lumina™. In August 2018, VIVO acquired Canna Farms, a premium cannabis company based in Hope, British Columbia. Canna Farms was B.C.’s first Licensed Producer and has several years of craft cultivation experience and expertise, as well as a significant patient base and positive cash flow. The Company is significantly expanding its production capacity and pursuing partnership and product development opportunities domestically, as well as in select international markets, including Germany and Australia. VIVO also operates Harvest Medicine, a patient-centric and highly scalable network of specialty medical cannabis clinics as well as a soon to be released free telemedicine app. VIVO has a healthy balance sheet with and is well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our business, in Canada and internationally.
