WOONSOCKET, Rhode Island, Jan. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Following its completed acquisition of Aetna, CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) today announced a $100 million commitment to making community health and wellness central to the newly combined company’s charge for a better world. The new Building Healthier Communities initiative, which will be funded over five years through the combined company as well as the CVS Health Foundation and Aetna Foundation, builds upon the outstanding tradition of community investment by both organizations and mobilizes their scale, combined capabilities and resources behind a unified strategy to deliver a measurable impact on the health of communities across the United States.

“We believe the path to better health and a better world can be reached by creating a whole new health care model that’s more local, affordable, and easier to use. And by strengthening our local support and community engagement, we can further improve the health of our communities,” said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Health, during a speech today at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. “Our new commitment builds upon the exemplary track records of CVS Health and Aetna in supporting community-based organizations to ensure they have the most effective tools, resources and solutions to accelerate the improvement of health care for individuals and families across the country.”

Through Building Healthier Communities, CVS Health will invest $20 million annually across three funding categories to support a range of initiatives and non-profit organizations. These include:

Improving Local Access to Affordable Quality Care

Building on its local impact over the past decade, CVS Health will expand its Project Health campaign to target more underserved and underinsured communities beginning in 2019, with an aim of reaching more at-risk populations with free health and wellness screenings. Project Health offers a no-cost comprehensive health assessment, including blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), glucose and total cholesterol screenings, which can detect early risks for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Since it was founded in 2006, Project Health has delivered more than $127 million in free health care services to nearly 1.7 million Americans.

The expansion of Project Health will also do more to screen for social determinants of health that affect personal health and communities. About 60 percent of life expectancy is driven by behavioral, social and environmental factors – including family, education, housing, and access to fresh food.¹ Project Health events have a proven track record of improving patient engagement and ultimately, healthier outcomes.  More than 87% of patients who attend Project Health events report following-up with their primary care physician and were significantly more likely to proactively discuss their blood pressure, BMI and blood sugar levels, according to the company’s own metrics.

In addition, Project Health events provide opportunities for our charitable partners to drive community members who seek access to care.  All events are promoted among local organizations like the LGBT Center in Los Angeles, the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, ACCESS Michigan in Detroit, and The NAACP in Houston.

Through its Building Healthier Communities initiative, CVS Health will continue to make strategic investments that enable access for more people to local resources like Meals on Wheels, free clinics and community health centers. Through grant funding in 2019 to more than 100 free clinics and community health centers in the communities we serve, CVS Health can help address these social and health disparities.

Impacting Public Health Challenges  

CVS Health will make significant investments in support of innovative approaches to managing chronic disease, including diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. About 60 percent of Americans have at least one chronic disease, which accounts for 86 percent of health care spending.² Funding will support partnership organizations uniquely positioned to tackle these public health challenges, including the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and American Diabetes Association. Through best-in-class organizations like these, we can increase our local reach and meet people where they are. For example, we’re teaming up with the American Heart Association with a goal to improve the blood pressure of 3.5 million women by providing increased access to blood pressure screening and diagnostic tests. Through the initiative, more than $4 million has already been invested to add blood pressure kiosks in highly-trafficked, community-based locations in cities including: Baltimore, MD; Charlotte, NC; College Station, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO; Lancaster, PA; New York City, NY Raleigh, NC; Twin Cities, MN; and Washington, D.C.

At the same time, CVS Health will continue to help tackle the nation’s opioid crisis as part of its new commitment. Funding will be directed to organizations that are innovating in the area of addiction treatment. For example, we’re partnering with Easterseals to prevent and mitigate prescription drug abuse among our nation’s veterans. Easterseals affiliates are in communities nationwide and are immersed in providing community-based care, including mental health and recovery services, for our nation’s veterans, their families and caregivers. Both CVS Health and Aetna have responded to this national epidemic in a variety of ways. Aetna was the first national insurer to waive co-pays for naloxone, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses. And in 48 states, CVS Health is dispensing naloxone with no individual prescription needed. Both companies also took the step to strengthen management of opioid prescriptions. As a result of these efforts, CVS Health has seen a nearly 72 percent drop in covered opioid prescriptions that go beyond a seven-day supply.

In addition, CVS Health’s leadership in helping youth lead tobacco-free lives will continue as part of the company’s Building Healthier Communities strategy. The company’s signature program, “Be The First” will continue to fund universities, women’s colleges, community colleges and Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) to go tobacco-free; e-cigarette education; tobacco control and healthy behavior programming through national and local partnerships including, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, CATCH Global Foundation, CDC, and Truth Initiative with a goal of helping deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation.

Partnering with Local Communities  

Through the Aetna Foundation and its collaboration with U.S. News & World Report, CVS Health will support the Healthiest Communities rankings, a groundbreaking report that evaluates the health of nearly 3,000 communities nationwide across 10 categories, from education and population health to infrastructure and economy. In addition to assessing which communities offer their citizens the greatest opportunity to live a productive, healthy life, the rankings, which were first released in 2018, identify the best approaches for improving public health that can be shared and implemented across the country.

While the Healthiest Communities rankings help identify critical needs of individual communities, the CVS Health Foundation and Aetna Foundation will continue supporting community-driven solutions that address social determinants of health and help make improvements in important public health issues. By supporting organizations that are dedicated to enhancing important factors that contribute to the well-being of communities, such as safe outdoor spaces, affordable transportation, and access to fresh fruits and vegetables, the company’s philanthropic efforts can have a significant impact on health issues such as the opioid epidemic, food insecurity and inequities in health care. The communities supported by Aetna Foundation grantees are already seeing positive outcomes, such as bringing new healthy food access points to within a mile of more than 1.6 million people and revitalizing public spaces to create new walkable destinations within a half-mile of more than 527,000 people.

These outcomes are due to the work being done by community-based organization who are working at the neighborhood level to deliver local impact. Organizations such as: Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County, Florida, which tackles high rates of racial/ethnic disparities in maternal/child health; FoodLab Detroit, which is focused on strengthening Detroit’s regional food system by creating a new food economy; and Go Austin/Vamos Austin, which promotes resident-led improvements to healthy foods and living environments. We will also expand initiatives utilizing community assets such as barbershops to improve hypertension in African American communities, launch new partnerships for multi-generational learning to improve health outcomes in high risk communities, and facilitate cross-sector collaboration among key stakeholders at the city and county levels.

In addition, CVS Health and Aetna employees have pledged a minimum $10 million in value of volunteer hours each year, offering their time and expertise to creating healthier, more sustainable communities. CVS Health and Aetna support these efforts through a robust volunteer platform where colleagues can volunteer regularly, and get involved with a range of local partner organizations to help address unmet health and social needs.

“Health starts at the community level. By combining the capabilities and philanthropic resources of CVS Health and Aetna, we can engage and empower local communities to address their unique health care needs and make a real difference,” added Merlo. “Ultimately, we’re aspiring to deliver better health care which in turn creates better communities and a better world.”

About CVS Health

CVS Health is the nation’s premier health innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Whether in one of its pharmacies or through its health services and plans, CVS Health is pioneering a bold new approach to total health by making quality care more affordable, accessible, simple and seamless. CVS Health is community-based and locally focused, engaging consumers with the care they need when and where they need it. The Company has more than 9,800 retail locations, approximately 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 93 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. CVS Health also serves an estimated 39 million people through traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including a rapidly expanding Medicare Advantage offering. This innovative health care model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.

Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Joe Goode, Joseph.Goode@CVSHealth.com
O: 401-770-9820; M: 781-799-6048

Ethan Slavin, SlavinE@aetna.com
O: 860-273-6095

Investor Contact:
Michael P. McGuire, Michael.McGuire@CVSHealth.com
O: 401-770-4050

Endnotes
¹ “Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity,” Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed at https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/.

² “Health and Economic Costs of Chronic Diseases,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm

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SOURCE CVS Health

LIMA, Peru and SMITHS FALLS, Ontario, Jan. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) (the “Company” or “Canopy Growth”), through its Latin American-focused subsidiary, Canopy LATAM Corporation (“Canopy LATAM”), is proud to introduce Spectrum Cannabis Peru S.A.C. (“Spectrum Cannabis Peru”), the newest member of the growing global Spectrum Cannabis family.

Spectrum Cannabis Peru will operate as part of the Canopy LATAM network and with Peru poised to introduce new regulations for the use of medical cannabis, this new in-market entity is uniquely positioned to support the opening of the Peruvian market while leveraging Canopy Growth’s global expertise in patient and physician education, as well as in medical cannabis production.

This announcement directly supports Canopy Growth’s strategy of securing first mover advantage to realize the opportunities generated by evolving cannabis regulations across the region and the world. Until regulations are published supporting patient access to medical cannabis, Spectrum Cannabis Peru will focus on advancing education activities, including working closely with the medical community to foster greater understanding of the potential uses of medical cannabis while reducing stigma.

Supporting education, regulation, and patient access for medical cannabis across Latin America

While in Lima to participate in the launch of Spectrum Cannabis Peru, Dr. Mark Ware, Canopy Growth’s Chief Medical Officer, is advancing the Company’s commitment to education through participation in a range of medical cannabis-focused events for physicians, healthcare professionals, and cannabis-focused patient groups.

This includes addressing healthcare professionals currently attending an introductory course on cannabis held by the medical college of Peru (“Colegio Medico del Peru“), as well as delivering an address and participating in the First Meeting of American Professional Experts working with Phytocannabinoids (“1° Encuentro Americano De Professionales Expertos En Fitocannabioides”) held in Lima from January 10 to 11.

The conference will also see Dr. Ware, in his capacity as a family physician focused on pain management, participate in the signing of the Lima Declaration on the medical use of cannabis. This physician-led declaration encourages governments, regulators, and health authorities throughout the region to ensure patient access and scientific research are the cornerstones of all Latin America medical cannabis laws.

Further, the declaration promotes collaboration across the region, and calls on healthcare professionals to contribute to informed access for cannabis-based medicines while asking patients to advocate and defend their right to such treatments.

A leap forward for sustainable regional production through Spectrum Cannabis Colombia

As previously announced, production operations are advancing at the Company’s farm in Colombia, with initial cultivation having started in late 2018. In line with the plan for sustainable regional production based in the country, the Company is pleased to report that licenses have now been received for the production of cannabis in all 126 hectares (13.6 million sq. ft.) of suitable growing area at the farm.

This is an increase from the previously licensed 42 hectares (4.5 million sq. ft.) of production area and to the Company’s knowledge, the wholly owned farm now represents one of the largest fully licensed cannabis production facilities in the world. This also positions Canopy Growth to meet the emerging regional supply demands as a number of countries across Latin America update their regulations and in so doing, open their markets for the import and sale of Spectrum Cannabis’ high-quality cannabis-based medical products.

Continued development of Canopy LATAM and local in-market entities

As regulations across the region continue to evolve at a rapid pace, Canopy Growth is well positioned to seize these new opportunities through its subsidiary Canopy LATAM, and the in-market entities that work collectively as part of the Company’s LATAM structure. A full leadership team is now in place at both the regional and local level to guide these activities and draws on extensive experience from leading organizations in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and consulting industries.

With a fully licensed production site in Colombia, newly launched operations in Peru, a rapidly evolving landscape in Mexico, and clinical trials underway in Chile, Canopy LATAM and Canopy Growth are uniquely positioned to realize the significant opportunities across Latin America with the ultimate goal of serving patients through education and high quality, reliable, medical cannabis products.

Quotes from leadership

“We’re proud to welcome Peru to the growing family of Spectrum Cannabis countries and to have the chance to serve Peruvian patients and healthcare professionals in the future,” said Mark Zekulin, President and Co-CEO, Canopy Growth. “Canopy Growth is a global leader in providing safe, regulated, medical cannabis and by leveraging our experience together with local expertise, we look forward to helping build a responsible Peruvian cannabis industry today and into the future.”

“The landscape for medical cannabis continues to evolve rapidly in Latin America and Peru is poised to take a leading role with the introduction of new regulations which we hope will prioritize patient access”, said Antonio Droghetti, Managing Director, Canopy LATAM. “Launching Peruvian operations enhances our ability to engage with regulators, healthcare professionals, and patients to ensure they have the information they need while also preparing for the future sale of medical cannabis products across the country.”

“With the full licensing of our 126-hectare farm, Spectrum Cannabis Colombia and Canopy Growth have demonstrated yet again our ability to execute and prepare for the rapidly rising demand that exists for medical cannabis”, said Bibiana Rojas, Country Managing Director, Spectrum Cannabis Colombia. “Our ambitious goal of sustainable regional production for medical cannabis is one step closer in Latin America and we’re proud to play a role in increasing the total potential production of Canopy Growth as it builds markets internationally.”

About Canopy Growth Corporation
Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms. Canopy Growth offers the world’s only medically approved vaporizers through the Company’s subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. The Company has operations in 13 countries across five continents. The Company is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public’s understanding of cannabis, and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Canopy Health Innovations (“Canopy Health”), has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Canopy Growth works with the Beckley Foundation and has launched Beckley Canopy Therapeutics to research and develop clinically validated cannabis-based medicines, with a strong focus on intellectual property protection. Canopy Growth acquired assets of leading hemp research company, ebbu, Inc. (“ebbu”). Intellectual Property (“IP”) and R&D advancements achieved by ebbu’s team apply directly to Canopy Growth’s hemp and THC-rich cannabis genetic breeding program and its cannabis-infused beverage capabilities. Through partly owned subsidiary Canopy Rivers Corporation, the Company is providing resources and investment to new market entrants and building a portfolio of stable investments in the sector. From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icon Snoop Dogg, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House seeds, Battelle, the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates ten licensed cannabis production sites with over 4.3 million square feet of production capacity, including over 500,000 square feet of GMP certified production space. The Company operates Tweed retail stores in Newfoundland and Manitoba and has entered into supply agreements with every Canadian province and territory. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com.

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to international operations in the LATAM region. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the Company’s ability to satisfy provincial sales contracts or provinces purchasing all cannabis allocated to them, and such risks contained in the Company’s annual information form dated June 27, 2018 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company’s issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.

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Contact: Caitlin O’Hara, Media Relations, Caitlin.Ohara@canopygrowth.com, 613-291-3239; Investor Relations, Tyler Burns, Tyler.Burns@canopygrowth.com, 855-558-9333 ext. 122; Director: Bruce Linton, tmx@canopygrowth.com

SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation