Home » EastWest Bioscience 80% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer receives FDA approval

EastWest Bioscience 80% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer receives FDA approval

PENTICTON, BC / ACCESSWIRE / — EastWest Bioscience’s manufacturing subsidiary, Orchard Vale Naturals, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration  approval for its 80% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer liquid spray. This will allow Orchard Vale to distribute its hand sanitizer to the American market, adding revenue streams to its US operation.

The 80% Ethyl Alcohol provides the Company significant latitude in its customer base. Doctors’ Offices, Dental Offices, and other medical practitioners require 80% content in order to meet their requirements.

Manufacturing has started this week in the Company’s 34,000 Sq Ft Penticton, BC facility with additional manufacturing being conducted in Ontario. The initial manufacturing run of 50,000 liters will be followed up shortly with additional production later in June.

In Canada, the Company has received pre-orders from its National Chain of Sangster’s stores along with its existing independent distribution network in Canada.

The Company will now begin marketing its hand sanitizer in the United States and will utilize Azema Sciences’ (“Azema”) Kentucky, USA facility as warehousing and logistic central for its US distribution.

“Orchard Vale Naturals is experiencing strong momentum in its supplement manufacturing in Penticton and is now introducing new revenue streams which will take advantage of the Company’s existing assets. Our focus is on increasing top-line sales and aggressively cutting costs to bring us closer towards our goal of positive EBITDA later in 2020,” says Rodney Gelineau, EastWest Chief Executive Officer.

The Company also announces, subject to its stock option plan and subject to approval by regulatory authorities, the grant of 6,000,000 stock options to certain directors, officers, employees, and consultants issued pursuant to the Company’s stock option plan. The options vest over a 3 year period, exercisable at a price of $0.05 per share, and expire in May 2023. The shares issuable upon exercise of the options may not be traded for 4 months and one day from the date of the grant.

About EastWest Bioscience Group

EastWest Bioscience is a vertically integrated wellness company with the infrastructure to become a global giant in the Hemp & CBD consumer health market. Since it was founded in 2016, EastWest continues to grow as a high-quality producer, manufacturer, and distributor of multiple lines of premium health and hemp products. EastWest currently has more than 200+ NPN’s in its stable of products.

EastWest’s consumer product lines are divided into four distinct brands: 1) Natural Advancement – natural biopharmaceutical health supplements; 2) Earth’s Menu – all-natural hemp superfoods; 3) Natural Pet Science – pet food and pet supplements; and 4) ChanvreHemp – all-natural health and beauty products.

In Canada, EastWest has a 34,000 Sq. Ft, Health Canada-licensed, GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) – certified manufacturing facility and produces premium nutraceutical brands, offering natural products for a preventive care lifestyle.

In the USA, EastWest Science USA Inc. (“Eastwest USA”) has a joint venture with Azema Sciences Inc. (“Azema”), a company related by common management and directors, securing for EastWest first rights on Azema’s output of bulk CBD and finished CBD products manufactured, and which are ready for sale in the USA and globally. EastWest USA, EastWest’s US operating division, will be the preferred distributor for Azema’s finished goods, which are products not currently in EastWest’s catalog. Additionally, EastWest will have the first right of refusal to all potential opportunities relating to Azema’s Kentucky-based CBD processing facility. EastWest currently has TSX approval for the sale of its consumer products in 21 US States.

The joint venture provides EastWest USA with a continuous supply of premium CBD, as it is developing value-added CBD consumer goods for the US market for the pet, skincare, functional food, and supplement categories. The joint venture will also generate additional revenue streams: EastWest USA will retail CBD material manufactured by the joint venture and market the co-packing/bottling services provided by the joint venture.

Situated on a wholly-owned 6-acre property, which is currently home to its 18,000 sf CBD processing facility, Azema Sciences is one of approximately 110 licensed Hemp processors in Kentucky. The joint venture specifies exclusive access for EastWest USA to 9,000 square feet of Azema’s facility, which will co-locate EastWest USA with Azema’s CBD processing, tincture bottling, and logistics operations. Co-locating provides EastWest USA with the real estate and resources to build out its own nutraceutical manufacturing adjacent to Azema’s CBD operations, providing significant efficiencies to its logistics and warehousing of products.

With operations based in Lebanon, Kentucky, Azema Sciences is situated in the heart of Kentucky’s Hemp country, with an estimated 80% of the state’s CBD Hemp farming within 100 miles of the facility. Kentucky’s licensed Hemp production grew to more than 42,000 open-air acres and around 66 greenhouse acres in 2019. This growth is due mainly to strong commercial support from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, being one of the first states to embrace pilot hemp programs allowing tobacco farmers to transition to hemp, and the direct political support of state legislators, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who introduced the hemp Farming Act of 2018 that was contained within the 2018 Farm Bill.

EastWest Bioscience has used its initial capital to acquire all of the necessary assets to capitalize on manufacturing aspects and focus on the finished products of the fully integrated model. The Company continues to focus on manufacturing consumer products for our end customers, manufacturing for private label customers in the US, as well as providing co-packing services to small and independent wholesalers and retailers. The Company will continue to focus its energy on cost control and revenue generation.