Greenergy set to venture into biotech

Greenergy Holdings Inc. is hoping to one day sell in the Philippines a pain and anxiety relief product that is based on one of the many compounds seen in marijuana. Such product may not yet be available locally but is already being sold over the counter in other countries.

Greenery shareholders recently approved the firm’s acquisition of 51 percent of the Yakuru group, which recently introduced its Yakuru line of cannabidiol (CBD) in Australia. CBD is one of several compounds in the cannabis plant, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. CBD does not create a “high” effect or any form of intoxication which is caused by another compound known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Greenergy said CBD oil was used in other countries for pain management, anxiety disorders and a host of other physiological conditions without getting “high.”

Just this month, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), an agency under Australia’s Department of Health, has allowed CBD products to be sold over the counter.

Yakuru’s first batch of delivery was “sold out in Australia within hours,” Greenergy president and CEO Antonio Tiu told the Inquirer. “I think there’s a big market here and abroad. Many people are looking for safe alternatives to alleviate their pain and other ailments,” he said.

“We’d like to stress that CBD oil is a nonaddictive substance that has a lot of medical uses, especially for pain management and neurodegenerative diseases,” he said. In a statement, Greenergy said Yakura was expecting more CBD orders to be processed and shipped globally by its Colorado-based subsidiary Yakura LLC.

Aligned with the push toward health and wellness using natural components, Tiu said Greenergy’s affiliate, Plentex Ltd., had been investing in biotech for agricultural and medical purposes from plants and algae.