Labat positioning itself across the cannabis value chain
Labat Africa has done a deal with the CSIR to grow and produce hemp at Coega in the Eastern Cape. This is part of the group’s strategy of engaging with all levels of the cannabis value chain and CEO Brian van Rooyen believes the money is in developing hemp textiles. In an interview with Neesa Moodley of the Daily Maverick on 4 April 2022, Labat CEO Brian van Rooyen said the agreement would solidify collaboration and co-operation between CSIR and Labat across the value chain of cannabis and hemp production for industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to textiles to energy.
“It is really about the CSIR wanting to commercialise medicinal cannabis and getting some traction in the industrial side of hemp production and processing. The partnership is collaborative and serves to benefit both parties,” he said.
The agreement makes provision for the use, upgrade and expansion of the CSIR Coega hemp-processing facility, the acceleration of hemp biomass and waste into energy applications in KwaZulu-Natal as well as for the beneficiation of biocomposites and biopolymers that will be applied in the automotive, textile, construction and packaging industries.
Conversion of natural fibre to biopolymer is where the money is
“For the latter, the conversion of natural fibre to biopolymer is where the value-add is. We have several confirmed private sector and state-owned enterprises as clients. One of these is the largest textile manufacturing company in South Africa, which will be using the material in their production rollout,” said Van Rooyen.
The rest of this article is reproduced from the Daily Maverick:
Van Rooyen says that there are currently no large-scale industrial hemp-processing operations in Africa: “The producers around do not have the technological capability and the financial means to scale business to the required global levels. South Africa’s [hemp industry] has remained a cottage industry due to historical regulatory issues, social stigma, minimal technological development and the absence of a reliable supply chain for industrial application.”
Focus will be on FMCG development
The joint effort by Labat and the CSIR will focus on producing some of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) among the 25,000 established hemp-based and hemp-derived products in the nine subsectors of the manufacturing industry, and Labat claims this initiative could result in the creation of 20,000 jobs in South Africa alone.
The agreement on cannabis includes the production and processing of the plant for medical purposes; active pharmaceutical ingredient research, development and production; the proliferation of Labat’s wellness range; as well as further development of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol(CBD)-infused pharmaceutical products and other cannabis compounds as well as terpenes using the pharmaceutical technology innovation platform, FuturePHARMA.
This is just the latest in a series of moves by the company aimed at establishing its dominance in the fast-growing hemp industry.
Herschel Maasdorp, Labat’s group executive for business development, says the company wants to be involved in almost every part of the cannabis value chain, from genetics to retail and dispensary.
Labat to use Sweetwater cannabis for Biodata clinical trials
Labat paid R10-million cash in early March this year for Sweetwater, an approved medicinal quality cannabis production facility in the Eastern Cape, which sells cannabis to clients in Australia and Europe as well as locally to medicinal patients through the Biodata research project. The company plans to increase the production capacity at the Sweetwater facility from 500kg a year to 1.5 tonnes a year.
Ace Genetics, the genetics, seeds and breeding subsidiary of Labat Healthcare, which has precontractual agreements with international seed banks, recently launched the African Cannabis Genome and Landrace Project at Sweetwater Aquaponics. This aims to map 12 African varieties of the plant, which include Malawi Gold, Durban Poison, Swazi Gold, Rooibaard, among others, at the Ace Genetics Nursery, making provision for a breeding programme that will ensure that indigenous knowledge systems are preserved.
Through Biodata, Labat has started conducting observational research into medical cannabis as an opioid replacement for pain management. This research was approved by SAHPRA in June last year.
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