Khiron Life Sciences Corp (TSX.V:KHRN) (OTCMKTS:KHRNF) CEO Alvaro Torres told our film team in early 2018 that “Khiron is coming.” This time he changed his choice of words to “Khiron has arrived.” A bold statement for a company that has been waiting for their opportunity to shine – but the wait is quite possibly, nearly over. The passing of the final regulations for the distribution of medical cannabis in Colombia are in the process of passing. Other populous Latin American nations with progressive agenda’s are also imminent. Khiron is in a unique position to benefit the most given their first-mover advantage, ownership of clinics, and their willingness and openness to work with and help define the regulation for Colombia. The market potential market across LATAM is huge (over 600 million), the cosmetics market has even bigger reach for the company worldwide and they are also getting into the CBD pet-product space to which there are over 200 million dogs and cats in Latin America.
Our team was taken on a tour of their new offices in Bogota as well as their pop-up shops and presence in the biggest cosmetics retail stores in the country. From there we went to their cultivation and processing facility in their sizeable rural lands away from the city. What stood out the most was the emphasis on strategy and strategic thinking. The brain-trust at Khiron consists of many lawyers, physicians and brand strategists. The reason for this at least in part- was to secure their position the moment the first patients are able to purchase cannabis as a medicine. We went to one of their clinics which is a key strategic move by the company. Why would they want to own clinics? Because in Colombia and other Latin American nations, they go by the quota system which in essence means in order for you to cultivate cannabis (or other pharmaceuticals) you need to demonstrate that in no uncertain terms, there are patients waiting to use it. Owning the clinics, is owning data and having a customer base that is built-in the moment the government gives the go-ahead which could literally be at any moment. The other key strategic move was to work so closely and cooperatively with the government. If sales were to begin today, Khiron would have the only approved products to sell. This is because they helped define the procedures and processes to be compliant and have a vast network of physicians who are aligned with the company.
The end of 2019 and into 2020 are going to be very interesting times for the company because in their words – when the regulations pass it means for them “instant revenue” for them, which presumably will grow aggressively from the there.
Original article: Khiron 2019 Site Tour: The King of CPG in Latin America©2019 Midas Letter. All Rights Reserved.