Safe Supply Streaming Announces Strategic Acquisition of 7% Stake in Leading Harm Reduction Company Safety Strips Tech Corp. and Provides Corporate Update

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – February 8, 2024) – Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd. (“Safe Supply” or “the Company”) (CSE: SPLY) (FSE: QM4) (OTCQB: SSPLF) is thrilled to announce its recent acquisition of a 7% interest in Safety Strips Tech Corp. (“Safety Strips“), the pioneering harm reduction company. Under the visionary leadership of CEO Geoff Benic, Safety Strips has emerged as a leader in the harm reduction space, developing proprietary medical testing technologies including a market-leading fentanyl test strip. This acquisition marks a significant step forward in addressing the escalating overdose crisis, positioning Safe Supply Streaming at the forefront of the emerging medical testing market.

Geoff Benic, CEO of Safety Strips, has previously propelled Aleafia to a valuation nearing half a billion dollars and earned the title of ‘TSX-V Company of the Year’. With its innovative approach to harm reduction, Safety Strips is working closely with blue-chip retailers to establish itself as the consumer packaged goods brand of choice in the medical testing industry. “With the Biden administration’s recent regulatory changes reclassifying fentanyl test strips, we are at a pivotal moment in public health,” said Benic. “Our mission is to commercialize our business effectively, making our life-saving technologies as ubiquitous as condoms were during the AIDS crisis. This partnership with Safe Supply Streaming will amplify our reach and impact, bringing critical harm reduction tools to a wider audience.”

CEO of Safe Supply Streaming, Bill Panagiotakopoulos, echoed Benic’s enthusiasm, highlighting the strategic importance of this acquisition: “Our investment in Safety Strips represents a key component of our value chain, delivering on the promise we made to our investors. We are not only looking at near-term revenue opportunities with Safety Strips’ existing product line but are also excited about the growth potential in the medical testing field. Our plans for Safe Supply Streaming extend into medium-term projects like CannaLabs and other deals that are currently in the pipeline. Safety Strips’ work, especially in the field of harm reduction and medical testing with products like Xylozen and date rape straws, is perfectly aligned with our vision.”

As the fentanyl crisis continues to widen, Safety Strips is well-positioned to lead in the development of harm reduction technologies. The market for fentanyl test strips alone is ripe for expansion, with potential applications at music festivals, with retailers, in schools, and more, reflecting a growing commitment to harm reduction across various sectors. Safety Strips’ expansion into a comprehensive range of medical testing products demonstrates the company’s commitment to diversifying its business and addressing a broad spectrum of public health challenges.

Building on this foundation, the global market for test strips, integral to the strategic growth of Safety Strips, is expected to grow from US $6.1 billion in 2023 to US $12.6 billion by 2030. Safety Strips has the capacity to manufacture 100 million test strips annually at competitive prices, which positions it for aggressive market penetration. The company is targeting market penetrations of 3-4% in 2024 and 5-8% in 2025 across key regions including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. To further this aim, Safety Strips is planning to forge distribution partnerships with universities, concerts, college sporting events, and music festivals, leveraging these high-risk environments to promote the use of Safety Strips as a vital harm reduction tool.

In a significant step towards expanding its market presence, Safety Strips is proud to announce its partnership with Hero Brands, a premier distributor in the United States known for its robust network and influential connections with top-tier retailers across the country. This strategic alliance marks a pivotal moment for Safety Strips, enhancing its distribution capabilities and ensuring that its innovative harm reduction products are more accessible to consumers nationwide. Hero Brands’ proven track record in successfully positioning products in high-visibility retail environments is expected to play a critical role in Safety Strips’ mission to become the consumer packaged goods brand of choice for medical testing and harm reduction solutions.

Further solidifying its commitment to broadening its retail footprint, Safety Strips is excited to reveal that its CEO is in advanced discussions with several blue-chip retailers to stock its life-saving products. These conversations underscore the growing recognition and demand for effective harm reduction tools in mainstream retail outlets. By potentially partnering with these retail giants, Safety Strips aims to make its essential health and safety products, such as the fentanyl test strips, readily available to a wider audience, contributing significantly to the public health effort to combat the overdose crisis. These developments signal Safety Strips’ relentless pursuit of strategic partnerships consistent with its vision to enhance public health safety through accessible and reliable medical testing solutions.

Safe Supply Streaming and Safety Strips are united in their mission to combat the overdose crisis and improve public health outcomes through innovative harm reduction technologies. This partnership represents an important milestone in the journey toward safer, healthier communities.

Corporate Update

Safe Supply is thrilled to announce the addition of Mr. Jack Bensimon, LL.M., CAMS, CFSA, CIMA, to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Jack Bensimon brings to the table nearly 30 years of the capital markets experience focusing on the Canadian and US regulatory and risk compliance, corporate governance, and securities law. A project strategist, he has successfully led various teams in the technology space focused on identifying, achieving and tracking key milestones within budget constraints. During his career, Mr. Bensimon advised various digital asset exchanges, issuers and platforms globally, registered new regulatory structures while developing all required compliance manuals for them, advised board and senior management on stakeholder communications and corporate governance practices. He also led the project management of subject matter expert compliance teams under OSC, IIROC, SEC, FINRA, FinCEN, FINTRAC platforms and several teams inside a large bank working on global wealth management compliance initiative.

Since 2008, Jack has been a Managing Director of Black Swan Diagnostics Inc., which focuses on regulatory compliance for broker-dealers, asset managers, and exchanges, independent risk assessment, securities law, and regulatory reporting for private and public companies.

Jack Bensimon is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an honours B.A. (Math/Economics), Wharton School University of Pennsylvania CIMA, University of Toronto LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Corporate Law, York University – Osgoode Hall Law School LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Securities Law and in the General stream. He is also adjunct faculty at York University in the MFAcc program, leading courses including Corporate Governance, Advanced Securities Law, and The Governance and Regulation of Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

The Company is also announcing the departure of Director Setti Coscarella, effective February 1, 2024. Setti left to pursue other opportunities, and Safe Supply wishes to extend gratitude for his service to the Company in the months leading to going public and afterwards.

About Safety Strips

Safety Strips is a leading harm reduction company, specializing in proprietary medical testing technologies. With a focus on innovation and public health, Safety Strips is dedicated to becoming the consumer packaged goods brand of choice for medical testing, offering products that save lives and enhance public health safety.

About Safe Supply

Safe Supply Streaming is a public company committed to improving public health outcomes through strategic investments in harm reduction and medical technology. With a focus on innovative solutions and partnerships, Safe Supply Streaming aims to address critical health crises and offer meaningful, life-saving interventions.

Learn more at www.safesupply.com and follow Safe Supply on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

For Further Information:

Bill Panagiotakopoulos

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd.

www.safesupplystreaming.com

safesupply@grovecorp.ca

Media contacts:

McKenna Miller

KCSA Strategic Communications

safesupply@kcsa.com

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

Certain statements in this news release related to Safe Supply and Origin are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature, including but not limited to the express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the intention of Origin and Safe Supply to complete the Transaction. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “should”, “could”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe”, “will” or “continue”, or the negative thereof or similar variations. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Origin’s and Safe Supply’s plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including but not limited to adverse market conditions and risks inherent in Origin’s and Safe Supply’s respective businesses. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this press release. Except as required by applicable law, Origin and Safe Supply do not intend to update these forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, there can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed, or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular and/or listing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Origin should be considered highly speculative.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy hereof.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/197229