As Ontario’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 500, FSD Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGE and CSE: HUGE.CN), is scaling back production at its subsidiary-owned production facility in the Town of Cobourg.
The pharmaceutical R&D company said Monday that the 25,000 square-foot facility, run by wholly owned subsidiary FV Pharma Inc., has began a systematic scale back of its cultivation operations in line with evolving guidance from provincial and federal health officials.
FSD said it has implemented a leave of absence policy for its workforce, which excludes certain staff working staggered shifts to ensure operations continuity and procedures necessary to maintain licensing.
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The company has also closed its facility to partners and ceased partner-related operations, according to a statement.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency by the Ontario government and the confirmation of infections in Cobourg, FSD CEO Raza Bokhari said his company has taken necessary steps to ensure the safety of its employees and town residents.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly shifting and we have assembled a working group within FSD Pharma to perpetually monitor the unprecedented market realities that are shaping the local and global business landscape,” he said. “We are putting forth our best efforts to make deliberate, definitive and difficult decisions to mitigate any present and future setbacks.”
Bokhari said his company is committed to persevering through these uncharted times and is prepared to adjust its strategy to adapt to the new normal that is emerging.
“We are confident that we are resiliently positioned to continue to advance our specialty pharmaceutical R&D efforts to target the endocannabinoid system of the human body,” he said.
Under FSD’s other owned subsidiary, FSD BioSciences Inc., it conducts specialty biotech pharmaceutical research focused on developing FDA-approved synthetic compounds targeting the endocannabinoid system. According to the company, it’s developing treatments for certain diseases of the central nervous system and autoimmune disorders of the skin, GI tract, and the musculoskeletal system.
Top photo by Cannabis Tours via Wikimedia Commons
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