Biotechnology company Awakn Life Sciences (NEO: AWKN) (OTCQB: AWKNF) announced today that the company will be entering the Canadian market through a licencing partnership agreement it has signed with Wellbeings® Pain Management and Dependency Clinic. Under the agreement, Wellbeings will be able to treat patients suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder utilizing AWKN’s proprietary treatment solution, Ketamine-Assisted therapy, and AWKN will also be providing Wellbeings® practitioners with training. As part of the partnership agreement, AWKN will receive a share of the revenue for each treatment and an annual subscription. This expansion method of licensing out its proprietary treatment is a very strategic way to increase revenues without the added capital expenditures that come with opening brick & mortar clinics. The CEO of Awakn Life Sciences Mr. Tennyson stated “We are delighted to sign another Licensing Partnership agreement in quick succession. Expanding our revenue generation into Canada is another significant milestone for Awakn. Wellbeings share our vision and goal of making new more effective treatment options available to so many people who are suffering and will make another excellent partner as we start to disrupt the incumbent addiction treatment industry in North America." 

According to the government of Canada, there was 15,000 preventative deaths attributed to alcohol consumption with 90,000 preventable hospital admissions with the impact of alcohol estimated to cost $14.6 Billion which is higher than the costs associated to tobacco, opioids and all psychoactive substances combined. Deaths stemming from addictions have increased in Canada since the pandemic, Stats Canada has found, with alcohol-related deaths affecting men and women under 65 and data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) “shows 10 Canadians die in hospital every day from harm caused by substance use, and 75 per cent of those deaths are related to alcohol” stated an article from Global News. 

Awakn is further expanding its footprint in North America, as the biotech company has also signed a partnership with Revitalist Lifestyle & Wellness (CSE: CALM) (OTCQB: RVLWF) of the United States. With Headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee, Revitalist has 10 clinics in operation spanning across 6 states, totalling over 62,000 square feet of facility space. Mr. Tennyson was quoted “Our partnership agreement with Revitalist adds an additional revenue stream for Awakn in our licensing partnerships' business, and importantly brings us into a new, and key territory - the United States. This puts Awakn in the relatively unique position of being a biotech with commercialization activity across both multiple revenue streams and geographic territories”.

Unfortunately, just like Canada, the United States is also witnessing an increase in alcohol related deaths, with alcohol-related deaths rising 26% in 2020, the highest in 10 years during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the United States, the Journal of American Medical Association found that 99,000 people died of alcohol-related causes with approximately 38% of those deaths for people aged 25 – 44.

With the increase in alcohol-related deaths in both Canada and the United States, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinics may very well see a continued increase in patient sign-ups and visits as more and more individuals struggle with alcohol addiction. 

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