VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- IONIC BRANDS CORP. has announced that it has signed an exclusive Heads of Agreement with Lifespot Health Limited to develop and distribute Lifespot’s software and vaporizer technologies.

Lifespot, via its subsidiaries, Seng Vital and Bodytel GmbH, will provide its Bluetooth-enabled vaporizers, which can be used for recreational cannabis consumption, and the Bluetooth Bodytel platform, which collects and manages consumer data in a compliant record keeping system that is beneficial to consumers and meets privacy regulations. IONIC BRANDS and Lifespot anticipate that a binding Joint Venture Agreement and Distribution Agreement will be completed within 60 days to formally implement the Joint Venture. The Joint Venture provides 12 months exclusive distribution of Lifespot vaporizers to Ionic in the United States and Canada and to the Ionic-owned brand, Astleys of London, in the United Kingdom. The company may be granted additional territories over time as needed to meet market demand.

Lifespot, located and headquartered in Victoria, Australia, is an ISO 13485-certified company which operates within the digital health sector and specializes in developing and commercializing medical diagnostic and monitoring technologies. LSH’s systems and applications were originally developed to bring efficiencies in the medical system to clients and end users and now, through the Joint Venture, theses cutting-edge products will be available to recreational users. LSH integrates software to combine enhanced sensor technology with self-learning algorithms, allowing users to efficiently monitor chronic diseases and critical conditions on their personal and professional digital devices, including smartphones, iPads and tablets and desktop computers.

IONIC BRANDS Chairman and CEO John Gorst commented, “Smartphone Bluetooth technology is the future of cannabis delivery and dosing. The company is ecstatic to offer consumers advanced delivery technology that, before this agreement, was only available to medical patients. Ionic’s launch and distribution of the Slim-line Vape is expected to start in Q3 2019 in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California. The Slim-line Vape is the first Bluetooth enabled vaporizer and  platform designed specifically for the use of cannabis. Our devices will allow for individual controlled dosing, with maximum safety, and the ability to track and measure progress, including through the use of an innovative fingerprint system.”

Under the Heads of Agreement, the parties intend to collaborate in the development, production and distribution of integrated smart vaporizer products and systems for the recreational cannabis market.

The implementation of the Joint Venture includes:

• the ongoing development, enhancement and improvement of cannabis vaporizer technologies and intellectual property for the recreational cannabis vaporizer market;
• the sale of vaporizers developed under the Joint Venture via IONIC BRANDS’s comprehensive and growing distribution network;
• further development of the R&D and manufacturing facilities for products developed under the Joint Venture; and
• integrated quality management systems to ensure strategic and expeditious market entry of new products, and the establishment of a highly-scalable manufacturing footprint that will ensure high volume demand can be met with high quality manufacturing standards.

A purchase order for an initial series of vaporizer and software technologies has been received and will be manufactured exclusively for IONIC BRANDS. The company is expected to commence shipping in Q3 2019.

LSH Non-Executive Chairman Rodney Hannington said, “We are delighted to announce this Heads of Agreement with IONIC, a leading manufacturer and distributor of cannabis concentrate products in the USA. The company brings lifesaving hardware and software solutions to IONIC’s great brands and strong and rapidly expanding distribution network."

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRESS RELEASE--FSD Pharma Inc. and Prismic Pharmaceuticals Inc., a U.S.-based specialty R&D pharmaceutical company, have announced that, on June 28, 2019, they finalized the acquisition by FSD Pharma of all of the issued and outstanding securities of Prismic. Pursuant to the terms of a previously-announced securities exchange agreement, FSD Pharma has acquired all outstanding common and preferred shares of Prismic for an aggregate purchase price of approximately US$17.5 million (CAD$23.4 million based on an exchange rate of US$1 to CAD$1.3349), satisfied by the issuance of approximately 102.7 million Class B subordinate voting shares in the capital of FSD Pharma at a deemed price of CAD$0.2275 (US$0.1704) per FSD Share. In addition, FSD Pharma has agreed to assume approximately US$3.05 million of outstanding Prismic long- and short-term liabilities. All of the outstanding Prismic stock options and warrants have been converted into options and warrants to purchase FSD shares, with the number and exercise price of such securities having been adjusted in accordance with the exchange ratio under the agreement.

The FSD Shares issued to the former Prismic shareholders were deposited into escrow at the closing of the Transaction, and are subject to an 18-month staggered release.

FSD Pharma will continue to be led by Raza Bokhari, MD, executive co-chairman and CEO. Zachary Dutton, co-founder of Prismic, will continue to serve as the CEO of Prismic, reporting to Edward Brennan, Jr. MD, FACS, president of the FSD Biosciences Division. Peter Moriarty, co-founder and previous chairman of the board of Prismic, has been named chairman of the newly-formed FSD BioPharmaceutical Industry Advisory Board.

Bokhari stated, “On behalf of the FSD Pharma shareholders and Board of Directors, it is with immense pleasure that I welcome Prismic shareholders and stakeholders to the FSD Pharma family. Over the past several weeks, Dr. Brennan and our M&A team have worked very closely with the Prismic leadership to finalize this transaction under budget and ahead of schedule. I must commend Dr. Brennan on his laser sharp focus and attention to detail and I must also express my special gratitude to Zach Dutton and Peter Moriarty for their efforts in resolving some outstanding issues to close the transaction.”

Bokhari continued, “The Prismic acquisition represents strategic depth in the vision and mission of FSD Pharma and signals a paradigm shift in the overall outlook of the company. We are relying heavily on the expertise of Dr. Brennan, who is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry veteran with substantial experience from working at Glaxo Smith Kline and Johnson & Johnson to navigate us through the various stages of the FDA approval process for drug development, with the goal of eventually making synthetic cannabinoid prescription medications available for commercial use to help alleviate the pain and suffering of patients. We are confident, Peter Moriarty, another well-known pharmaceutical industry veteran, who was also one of the founders of Shire Pharmaceuticals, will make a meaningful contribution to the FSD Pharma story as the chairman of the BioPharmaceutical industry advisory board.”