Neptune Wellness Solutions (NEPT.T) reported today that their phase II expansion at their Sherbrooke, Quebec, facility is online and has received approvals to run product for customers, topping out its capacity at 200,000 kilograms.

The company believes that their cold ethanol tech combined with their facility’s high level of automation will increase production up to five times compared with its CO2 tech, while using two time less energy.

“This development further strengthens our B2B extraction business and solidifies our competitive advantage in the market. Phase II is the key for our Canadian LP customers to be able to lower costs, provide value to consumers and create a competitive advantage, all while allowing Neptune to compete effectively with superior pricing, quality and healthy margins. We are also testing our cold ethanol technology and making significant progress towards further advancements in our processing technology, which will further enable sustainable, low-cost, high-quality production for our Canadian cannabis customers,” said Michael Cammarata, chief executive officer of Neptune.

Neptune Wellness Solutions is a company that specializes in the extraction, purification and formulation of health and wellness products. They regularly service over 100 customers across several verticals including legal cannabis and hemp, nutraceutical, and consumer packaged goods. Neptune’s activities also include the development and commercialization of turnkey nutrition solutions and patented ingredients such as MaxSimil, and a variety of marine and seed oils.

Wellness and hand sanitizer

Now as of earlier this week one of those verticals is involved in fighting the pandemic.

Neptune submitted their facility in Conover, North Carolina, as a potential drug manufacturing site for over the counter alcohol-based hand sanitizer to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the agency’s temporary policy for these types of products during the pandemic. Given how hard it is to find good hand sanitizer even on our local shelves, this seems like a natural vertical to exploit during these times.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers should be your second choice, according to the CDC.

Clean your hands often

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

But this still represents an excellent vertical for a company like Neptune Wellness.

“We have already received strong interest from retailers and have worked with our partners to successfully secure initial raw material supplies. We anticipate initial shipments over the next several weeks and intend to fully ramp up production over the coming months. Our hand sanitizers are leveraging our experience and ongoing development of plant-based household products, allowing us to quickly address this growing consumer need with a premium quality solution,” said Cammarata.

Registering the facility with the FDA gives the company the ability to start manufacturing alcohol-based hand sanitizers and meet the increased demand for these products by consumers and healthcare professionals. The company had previously received Health Canada’s nod to commercialize natural, plant-based hand sanitizer products, and the Neptune anticipates the first shipments over the next several weeks with production growing into summer 2020.

—Joseph Morton