Irwin Naturals Emergence to Add Ohio Ketamine Clinic

Irwin Naturals Inc. (CSE: IWIN | OTC: IWINF | FRA: 97X) announced today that it has entered into a binding to agreement to acquire all of the membership interests in Happier You, LLC, which operates a ketamine clinic in central Ohio. This clinic will be added to Irwin Naturals Emergence, a fast-growing national chain of psychedelic mental-health clinics that has previously acquired 10 different clinics across a total of five states.

Tara J. Dillon, founder of Happier You, said, “We built our practice out of the belief that it was not just possible, but necessary to ease the suffering of those people who had not been helped by traditional mental-health treatments. Becoming part of Irwin Naturals Emergence allows us to be part of a chain capable of making life-changing impact on a national scale.”

Happier You opened in 2020, founded by Tara Dillon, a registered nurse and family nurse practitioner. The clinic provides IV ketamine-infusion therapy, which is used to treat depression, anxiety as well as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Irwin Naturals was founded in 1994, and has built itself into a brand recognized in 80 percent of American households with its best-in-class nutraceuticals, such as its famous “Power to Sleep PM.” Irwin Naturals products are stocked on the shelves of more than 100,000 storefronts in North America, and now that brand is moving to the forefront of this new frontier of healthcare.

Klee Irwin, CEO of Irwin Naturals, said, “We’ve earned customer trust through nearly 30 years of caring for their health needs. That makes us a familiar friend, providing assurance to consumers in this new area of care. Just being in this space speaks for both the safety and efficacy of this care.”

Irwin Naturals Emergence already includes clinics in Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and Georgia. By building this national chain of clinics, Irwin Naturals Emergence will drive down operating costs by incorporating its corporate best practices and the savings that come from the ability to buy in larger quantities. These savings can be passed on to consumers, and most importantly, broaden access for those in need through sliding-scale discounts or even pro bono treatment. This will enable the company to serve as a bridge as insurance plans catch up to the importance and power of these treatments.

Currently, ketamine is the only psychedelic available for use in the United States outside of clinical trials. However, MDMA and psilocybin may be authorized for therapeutic use in the future. The effectiveness of these treatments in clinical trials points to the possibility of further revolutionizing the field mental-health treatment. It is estimated that one in four Americans have what would be considered a diagnosable mental-health condition.

The Agreement is subject to certain customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The total consideration is to be paid in a combination of cash and stock, with maximum payable contingent on a number of milestones related to profitability and operation goals. Further detail will be provided upon closing.

Irwin Naturals has been a household name and best-in-class herbal supplement formulator since 1994. It is now leveraging its brand to enter into both the cannabis and psychedelic industries. On a mission to heal the world with plant medicine, Irwin has operated profitably for over 27 years. Irwin’s growing portfolio of products is available in more than 100,000 retail doors across North America, where nearly 100 million people know the Irwin Naturals brand. In 2018, the Company first leveraged its brand to expand into the cannabis industry by launching hemp-based CBD products into the mass market. The Company is now leveraging its famous halo of brand trust with an objective to become one of the first household name brands to offer THC-based products and psychedelic mental health treatment. Irwin Naturals became a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in August 2021. The Company’s shares began to be traded on the OTCQB Venture Market in November 2021.