Dr. Lui Franciosi reports

VERITAS AND CANNEVERT HIRES THE ESSENTIUM GROUP AS THEIR AGENT IN PUERTO RICO USA

Veritas Pharma Inc., through its research arm, Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. (CTL), has hired the Essentium Group LLC, a leading consulting firm, as its agent to provide advice on clinical investigators and licensed medical cannabis producers to assist in the implementation of a clinical trial of a cannabis strain in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.

Veritas chief executive officer, Dr. Lui Franciosi, stated: "We are pleased to have this group help us with our mission of establishing the therapeutic potential of Cannevert's cannabis strains. Although the people of Puerto Rico have endured a significant weather event this past September, they have demonstrated a will to immediately rebuild for the better. Over the years, this territory has been an active player within pharmaceutical industry with an abundance of expertise and infrastructure that Veritas will take advantage." Dr. Franciosi goes on to say, "They have numerous licensed producers of medical cannabis with whole new varieties that are of great interest to us."

Puerto Rico is one of the world's best-known pharmaceutical production and development centres with a growing biotech presence. Most of the biggest pharmaceutical companies have used this U.S. territory as a manufacturing or outsourcing base due to its established infrastructure, highly skilled labour force, popular tax incentives and immediate access to the U.S. market. Around 60 per cent of Puerto Rico's export value is pharma-related and over 25 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product) comes from the pharma industry (Puerto Rico Report, 2017). In 2015, the territory legalized the use of medical cannabis to treat at least 14 preapproved conditions including pain, human immunodeficiency virus, cancer, multiple sclerosis, migraines, anxiety and epilepsy. According to the popular on-line magazine the Cannabist, there are nearly 9,000 Puerto Ricans who have paid $25 (U.S.) a year for a permit to use medical cannabis, 27 dispensaries, 11 grow facilities, five manufacturing centres and two laboratories responsible for analyzing all medical marijuana before it is sold (the Cannabist, 2017).

About Veritas Pharma Inc.

Veritas Pharma Inc. is an emerging-stage pharmaceutical and IP (intellectual property) development company, which, through Cannevert Therapeutics, is advancing the science behind medical cannabis. It is the company's aim, through its investment in CTL, to develop the most effective cannabis strains (cultivars) specific to pain, nausea, epilepsy and PTSD, solving the critical need for clinical data to support medical marijuana claims. CTL's unique value proposition uses a low-cost research and development model to help drive shareholder value and speed to market. Veritas investment in CTL is led by a strong management team, bringing together veteran academic pharmacologists, anesthetists and chemists.