Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) (FSE: L0MA) has received a patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for its filtration stack used in the post-extraction processing of THC and CBD oils.
The company has been issued a total of 11 patents by four international patent offices in the key markets of Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Colombia.
“Given the abundant supply of lower-grade dried cannabis, we believe processors that establish a competitive advantage by utilizing superior technology to transform otherwise unsellable biomass into high-purity THC and CBD oils at a lower cost than competitors, will generate better margins and build a sustainable long term business,” Nextleaf CEO Paul Pedersen said in a statement.
“As we close out 2019, I’m extremely proud of our R&D team for obtaining its 11th patent, protecting what we believe to be the most efficient methods for producing distilled THC and CBD oil at scale within a regulated environment,” Pedersen stated.
Nextleaf 2019 Milestones
While Canada became the first developed country to federally legalize cannabis and cannabis-infused products, Nextleaf became the first public company granted multiple patents for industrial-scale extraction and purification of cannabinoids.
In December, the company received its high-capacity extraction plant, the final component of the company’s patented end-to-end processing system. The phase 1 plant, operating within the Nextleaf Labs Ltd. licensed production facility, can process the same amount of cannabis biomass into a refined oil as eight large supercritical CO2 extractors.
In November, Nextleaf completed commissioning of its automated vape cart filling line that has capacity to fill 3,000 vape cartridges per hour. The company believes its patented large-scale extraction and refinement plant will position it as a low-cost supplier of THC and CBD distillate. The company expects to report revenue from toll processing and the supply of bulk concentrates in the first calendar quarter of 2020.
In September, Nextleaf acquired intellectual property pertaining to water-soluble cannabinoid formulations. Based around a nano and micro emulsification process, the technology utilizes food-grade emulsifiers already approved by Health Canada to create water-soluble cannabinoids that are shelf-stable and deliver fast onset time. The company plans to monetize this technology in 2020.