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Written By: Stephen L Kanaval Equities.com had the pleasure of speaking recently with Marc Lakmaaker, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Development at Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB[NYE] - $7.54 . Equities: One aspect of the company that's really interesting to us here at Equities is Aurora's partnership with Radient Technologies, which just received its standard processing license. How does Aurora envision this partnership going forward? Marc Lakmaaker : " Radient is a very important partnership because we are looking at a global cannabis industry with huge market potential. The market is moving towards more innovative, smoke-free products. So, in order to build up capacity and meet the demands of what will be a dominant marketplace for years to come, you have to have capacity extraction ." Equities: Regarding that, what is the key difference-maker in Radient's technology? Lakmaaker : "Where Radient comes in is that they have extraction technology that reduces process time from hours to minutes, so their throughput is going to be far higher than anything else available on the market right now. Beyond that, the technology allows you to basically extract the entire cannabinoid profile from the plant, so the extract has the same quality profile as the original plant. The technology gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of what products we can develop, and the capacity and the skill with which we can operate—all while keeping costs down and margins high. It is truly a partnership for the future, and we believe the partnership gives us a great competitive advantage." Equities: Tangential to Radient, how do you guys see Hemp playing a role in your portfolio and revenue stream going forward? Lakmaaker :" In the cannabis market a year ago we were seeing mostly medical and consumer, and now we are seeing a medical and consumer market geared toward wellness. As the wellness part of this market continue to develop we will start to see a market that supplies a variety of non-prescription formulations that are driven by CBD-based products. That is really where hemp comes in, and already we own Agropro, the largest organic CBD hemp producer in Europe, Hemp Co., one of the largest hemp processors in Canada, and ICC Labs, which has substantial hemp assets in Latin America."
Equities: Can you tell us more about ICC Labs? Lakmaaker : "ICC is very interesting because they are able to grow hemp that is highly rich in CBD. In Canada and other places, you can only grow hemp that is up to 3% CBD, but in Uruguay it is much higher than that. And with the parallel research we are doing, we believe we will be able to launch a broad wellness product line. Bottom line, it is going to be a fascinating market and we are excited to have diverse distribution channels in which to distribute our products, and global research to back up everything we do.."Related: How Proper Banking Services Can Help the Cannabis Industry Succeed Equities: What does Aurora see on the international side of operations this year regarding potential milestones? Lakmaaker: "It is very important for us to establish an early footprint and brand awareness in all these up-and-coming markets. What we are doing by virtue of being an early mover is we are engaging with the medical community in all of these countries. We are also engaging with the regulatory establishment in each market. Also, if you look at physicians, they are still among the largest drivers for growth in the medical space. So, if you look at the chemical work we are doing—all the case studies—all of these enable us to establish a very early footprint with the people who are actually making a difference in the market." Equities: Cannabis beverages will be a huge slice of the market. How do you see Aurora approaching this segment? Lakmaaker : "Obviously, this is a space we are very interested in, and we have even indicated our interest in the past. We think it is going to be big and we look to be an important player in the space in terms of cannabis infusions and the wellness side." Equities: Thank you, Marc.