 Hi guys, how you doing? I am your host Rich here and we have a RichTV live with our very special guest, Araz Azadian, the CEO of Avikana. How you doing today Araz? Doing well. How are you? I'm doing fantastic. Thank you for joining us today. Excited to have you on the show. And I wanted to start off by asking you, why don't you tell us a little bit about Avikana and what made you want to become the CEO? Sure. So I'm the founding CEO. So I think it started with me wanting to create the company then to be the CEO. I had two co-founders. We came from different walks of life. One was a patient advocate looking at cannabinoids as medicine and the other one said to period who's the president was an attorney with a fond understanding of the regulations. We started the company 2015 with the vision of providing standardized medicine using cannabinoids. My background prior to that, I was in the biotech sector, I was a management consultant. I was an executive in a couple of biotech companies and learned how biotech or biopharma company functions. And when I saw the cannabis opportunity, I realized that all the companies that were there, the initial, let's say the big four or five, were really predominantly focused on cultivation and lead, where I knew that the ultimately standardized medicine data evidence to educate physicians and to provide patients with the right methods and the right products is going to be the massive market opportunity. And we started with that vision. And considering my qualifications as a biotech executive, the three of us decided that it would make the most amount of sense for me to be the CEO. I basically took the huge leap of faith and we accepted the company together. Now, you mentioned this a little bit. What are the main focuses of Avicana Inc for the first half of 2021 and some of the milestones the company has already set to achieve? So when we started off in 2015, the idea was to take a traditional drug development process. So your GW pharma, you know, drug development optimization, preclinical clinical development, and we did that, you know, we were part of a Johnson and Johnson incubator, where the only cannabis company that has ever been admitted to that. So we're inside J&J's research center, we have our own cannabis research places. It's all pharma and, you know, about two years into it, when we started developing these more advanced drugs, tablets, capsules, transdermal patches and topicals, we realized that the drug development clinical development pathway, which we're taking and we're still doing, is a long journey. But our expertise, which is really advanced cannabinoid standardized medicine, actually has faster to market channels, which is medical cannabis, cosmetics. So we started developing more products for today's market. And we are today in 2021, we have our medical line commercial in the largest pharmacy chain in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart. We're selling them in Latin America and Colombia. We have our cosmetic line commercial in a couple of countries. And our pharmaceutical drugs, which when we started off from, are actually progressing and are they're being registered in many countries as well. So really, we are a recently commercialized biotech biopharma company that has specialized in cannabinoid based medicine. And we've established what we believe is the most strong or the most comprehensive scientific platform related to cannabinoid based medicine in the world today. Wow, that's impressive. You guys are doing some incredible things. And only the first time we got a chance to meet and I haven't heard much about your company yet. So I'm very excited about learning more and having our entire community really start syncing their teeth in and learning more about your company. Now the cannabis space is starting to really pick up. And now that the possible legalization in America is coming, Q, tell us what sets Avicana Inc apart from the rest? So we're a biotech biopharma company that works with cannabinoids. We're not a cannabis company. So I don't sell joints. I don't sell pre-rolls. I'm not a multi-state operator. We trade on the TSX as a biotech company, not as the cannabis company. So the opportunity that is opening up in the United States is I believe a lot bigger than what people actually perceive. So if you're a multi-state operator, that means you can cross borders and get access to capital and you can sell more joints and pre-rolls and stuff like that. Great opportunity and I'm completely fond of that and I believe in that. But that's a recreational company. For the medical, the biotech, the pharma companies, the advancements in the United States means better access to capital, means more sophisticated investors that believe in biotech and biopharma benefits of cannabinoids. And GW Pharma got acquired last week for $8 billion. I mean the timing is great. This also means that big pharma is going to get a little bit more comfortable in getting involved with cannabis companies that are doing the biotech and biopharma stuff. So I think for companies like us that have spent five years establishing a scientific platform, have demonstrated our ability to take concept, develop it in the lab, optimize it, do this clinical studies, then commercialize it. Companies like us that have demonstrated that now become targets for funds, institutions, pharmaceutical companies that are seeking to enter the space. And because in Canada it's federally legal and we have the federal licenses to do this research, we believe we're in the forefront of that. We are the intellectual property that big pharma will start to look for, to collaborate with or to acquire. So I think the opportunity towards legalization or decriminalization in the United States has benefits for the multi-state operators, but also has substantial benefits for the biotech, biopharma companies. Very exciting. I like what you guys are doing. It's very unique. And you guys are focused on the medicinal side. You guys are focused on the research side. You're not focused like you said on joints. I don't like that. You're not touching the plant, correct? We actually are vertically integrated in Colombia. So I'm cultivating organic, sustainable, low cost, but all of that input material gets processed into what we call APIs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, CBD, CBG, THC, and then that goes into our finished drugs. So we don't sell flour, but we do have vertical integration and we've built that in a developing country in an organic, sustainable way so that we can maintain the quality and the cost that we need to supply the rest of the world. The entire world is pretty excited about the benefits of cannabis from a medicinal perspective. And I think as investors, as an investment community, we're often distracted by recreational use or adult use, which is predominantly can in the United States. But outside of that, adult use and recreational is not legal anywhere else. There's a Uruguay, but that's a very small country. So really, the big time global opportunity for advanced medicine with cannabinoids is really a global opportunity. And that's what we focus on. So Colombia gives us access to low enough cost input material so that when I have a bottle of capsules or tablets or topical that has cannabinoids, we're talking 10, 20, $30 products, not hundreds of dollars a product. So yes, we are vertically integrated, but still it's focused on medicine and evidence-based approach. Now it's vital when our community is looking at investing in stocks and in companies like yours that are early stage, undervalued, underappreciated, under exposed opportunities, that we get a good chance to understand who's behind the team. So can you tell me a little bit about the team at Avicana and what the key members bring to the table? Absolutely. I think one of the most unique things about this team is that it's the same executive team from the beginning. So I'm a biotech executive. We have lawyers, clinicians, R&D scientists. There's overall about 10 full-time employees that are MDs or PhDs in this company, and we're a very relatively small company. So this is a very professional centric, science centric company, and it's the same core team. So said to his co-founder, he's an attorney. Our head of R&D, France, he's developed a lot of the formulations and the technologies we're using. Carolina is leading our medical and clinical programs. Our head of marketing Yvonne has been with us from the beginning. Lucas leads our operations in South America. He's Argentinian. He's been there from the beginning. So the team is the same core team from the beginning, all professionals. And what's remarkable is how tightly held not only has the team been, but our shares. We've only issued 30-something million shares. It's all been strategic partners, which includes some large pharmaceutical companies, including Tasti Pharma in China and some important funds in Brazil and the States. None of the management I've ever sold shares ever. And I think that's very important that we do believe in what we've established. We're starting to see more and more credibility amongst the medical community in Canada, but also amongst the cannabis community globally, that we are the intellectual property company. So I think we're all very proud of what we've accomplished, and it's because the team has really stayed true to that vision of evidence-based cannabis medicine and has stayed together along the pathway. Now, you mentioned your share structure. That is vital for our community. We love tight float stocks. Can you break down your share structure? How much is held by insiders and institutions? I think about 40 percent is still held by the management and board, which is really important. The three co-founders probably still about own probably about 30 percent. Again, we haven't been very dilutive. And then there's several institutions, some Canadian funds, a couple of Brazilian funds, Tocely Pharma in China. There's a couple of big pharma shareholders. I think if I was to estimate, I would say 75, 80 percent of the company is very tightly held. Wow. So it's a very tight float. And you mentioned you've never sold a single share since you've been involved in the company. Myself, the rest of the senior team, never. Obviously, we have to disclose as we do. So it's online. Anyone can see it. We really believe in what we've built. We believe we're substantially undervalued because until, as a recently, people didn't really know the value of biotech pharma. Everyone thought cannabis is just joints. And now more and more evidence is coming. We are proving that as well. We have clinical collaborations with the most important hospitals and academic institutions in Canada. We've had that for years. So finally, we're starting to get a little bit of credit for that, where three, four years ago, everyone would always ask me, why are you doing all this research? Why are you doing that? Why don't you just grow weed and sell it? And that's not what we do. Our effort and our time was spent in putting up more advanced medicine. What's exciting for me and my shareholders today is that we are not commercial. So for a biotech company to become commercial, it's a lot more complicated. It's a longer path than for a company that grows weed, puts it in a bag and sells it. And the fact that we are not commercial means we've passed very important milestones from a regulatory perspective. And we're commercial in several countries. So it's a very, very exciting time for us. If there was one thing you would want shareholders to know about Avicana, what would it be? We're dedicated to setting the standards for what medical cannabis or medicine from the source of cannabinoids is meant to be at a global level. And we have done our homework. We've stayed committed to that. We stayed true to that. And they will see the results of that at a global level in a very, very short period of time. And what is the best way for shareholders to get in contact with you? We're going to have this video shown all over the world to investors that are watching within our community in about 100 countries. What would be the best way for them to reach you or the company if they're interested in making an investment, maybe a joint venture partner, maybe an LOI, someone has some interest? What's the best way for them to reach you? The PG 13 way is of course info at avicana.com or IR at avicana.com. You can find me on LinkedIn. My team is trying to convince me to get Twitter because I'm apparently very opinionated and people want to hear that. So for now, LinkedIn is the easiest way to reach me. Okay, great. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Araz Azadian, the CEO of Avicana. Super excited to have you on the show today. Guys, remember Rich TV Live is strictly for education and entertainment purposes. Always do your due diligence. Always do your research before you invest in anything that we talk about here in Rich TV Live. Consult a financial advisor. Chances are if you consult a financial advisor about Avicana, they're going to say, hmm, that's a really nice pick. I really like what I see about this company, guys. Symbol in Canada, A-V-C-N. Symbol in America, A-V-C-N-F. And symbol in Frankfurt, Germany, O-N-N. If you're not winning, you're not watching. We bring in the winners and we bring them to you first. Put this pick on your radar, put on your watch list. If you like the video, smash the like button, comment down below, share the video everywhere, and subscribe. All right, Araz, thank you so much for your time today. Keep up the great work and I hope to have you on the show again one time in the future. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Keep up the great work and we'll be watching. Thank you for watching, everybody. Have a nice day.