Neptune Wellness Solutions is a Canadian

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

company that produced krill oil and other supplements and was based in

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

. It had also provided hemp oil and cannabis products until it sold that part of the business in 2022. Originally known for

Antarctic krill Antarctic krill (''Euphausia superba'') is a species of krill found in the Antarctica, Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000� ...

oil production, the company previously operated an industrial-scale licensed cannabis processing plant in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, CA, and a hemp processing facility in North Carolina in the U.S. until selling the cannabis business in 2022.

History

Neptune Wellness Solutions (originally ''Neptune Technologies and Bioresources'') was founded by Henri Harland and Luc Rainville in 1998. The Canadian company conducted some of the first research on the health benefits of krill oil and the unique, absorption capacity of its “

phospholipid Phospholipids are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

” molecular structure and the fats contained within it. Neptune secured a family of patents - for an extraction process as well as composition and method of use. In 2002, the company pioneered the production and extraction of Antarctic krill oil. In 2003, after constructing a new facility in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Neptune launched its first product, Neptune Krill Oil, creating a new

omega-3 Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...

category, manufactured using acetone as a solvent. In 2012, an explosion in Neptune's processing plant resulted in three deaths and halted production at the facility. Following the accident, the company spent two years rebuilding the plant and was required to meet several safety conditions before resuming production in 2014. In 2017, Neptune essentially exited the bulk krill oil manufacturing and distribution business, selling its client list to its main competitor,

Aker BioMarine Aker BioMarine is a leading human health and nutrition innovator that develops krill-derived products for consumer health and nutrition. Krill is a natural, powerful, and health-promoting source of nutrients from the pristine waters of Antarctic ...

of Oslo, Norway, for $34 million. The company invested to convert its Sherbrooke facility to process cannabis biomass using new cold-ethanol technology and rebranded to Neptune Wellness Solutions. In 2021 Neptune announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in Sprout Foods. Neptune was licensed by

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; )Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary units, department of the Gove ...

in January 2019 to enter the cannabis market, allowing the company to manufacture and purify cannabis extracts and oil. After receiving the license, the company entered into a three-year contract with Canadian companies The Green Organic Dutchman and Tilray, securing cannabis and

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

biomass for extraction of crude resin, winterized oil, and distillate extracts for their products. In May 2019, Neptune entered the U.S. hemp market by acquiring the assets of SugarLeaf Labs and Forest Remedies. The purchase included a 24,000-square-foot cold-ethanol hemp processing facility, located in

Conover Conover may refer to: People * Conover (surname) Places in the United States * Conover, Iowa, a ghost town * Conover, North Carolina, a city * Conover, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Conover, Wisconsin, a town * Conover (community), Wis ...

, NC. In 2024, the company was delisted from the Nasdaq after steep declines in its share price due to financial difficulties. John M. Moretz who served as Chairman, also settled a case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in May 2024 and agreed to pay a penalty of $115,000.

Products

Krill Oil

Made from Antarctic krill, a sustainable and non-genetically modified source of omega-3 fatty acids, Neptune's krill-based supplements are available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada for direct purchase or through its distributors.

Hemp Oil

Neptune had produced hemp-derived products exclusively from U.S.-grown hemp. The company was involved in all aspects of product production, including farmer collaboration during the growth cycle to processing, formulating, testing, packaging, and distributing finished products to customers. Its products include ingestibles and topical products and are safe for both humans and pets. It sold this part of the business in 2022.

References

{{reflist Cannabis companies of Canada Companies based in Quebec Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange