Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies announced this week that it had identified a potential ‘first in class’ immunotherapy treatment for solid tumours.
Furthermore, the company has suggested this treatment could be ‘much, much more cost-effective from a healthcare provider point of view’, leading to a bump in stock price.
The pharmaceutical company says that the asset has arisen from its ‘Programme 4’, which is working to explore the library of nearly 500 cannabinoid derivatives as part of an exclusive licence agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation.
In its Half Year Report from January, OCT stated that its Programme 4 would be ready for the ‘lead stage’ by Q2 2023, at which time further development of all programmes except its lead compound would be ‘placed on hold’.
This move was part of a cost cutting measure to ensure its lead drug candidate OCT461201, which received MHRA approval for Phase 1 clinical trials in May, could continue to be developed with the cash reserves on hand.
However, the company says that due to the ‘significant potential’ of this early stage treatment its attention will ‘now focus on further in vitro and in vivo studies’, and this will be followed by a ‘safety-pharmacology assessment before final candidate selection, likely during 2024’.
According to the company: “This work will be carried out using the existing cash resources of the company.”
Speaking to the PA news agency, its CEO Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker said: “We obviously just want to progress it as soon as we can.
“The challenge with the drug discovery world is that it always takes longer than you expect and you have to go through all of those pre-clinical steps before, quite rightly, the regulator will agree to let you test something on human beings.”
Following the news Ms Sowemimo-Coker, and the company’s General Counsel and Company Secretary Robin Bennett made purchases of 310,406 and 331,012 shares in the company respectively, both at £0.009.
Intercure
Last week Israel’s largest cannabis company Intercure announced that it was planning to leave the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
Intercure recently informed investors that its board of directors have approved a voluntary delisting of the company’s stock from the TSX ‘after concluding that maintaining the listing does not offer substantial benefits to the company and its shareholders.’
It has applied to delist its shares from the TSX ‘at the end of the trading session on August 14, 2023’, subject to approval from the TSX and its shareholders.
The company will continue to trade on the NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and says that as the majority of brokers in Canada have the ability to buy and sell securities on NASDAQ, local shareholders will retain their ability to trade its stock.
“After a careful review of the trading volume data relating to the shares, the board has concluded that the trading volume on the TSX is insufficient to justify the continued listing,” it said.
It came just days after US and Canadian cannabis operator TerrAscend secured its own listing on the TSX, in what cannabis industry expert and veteran reporter Jeremy Berke suggested could be the start of an influx of US MSOs onto the exchange.
He argues that TerrAscend’s ‘coveted’ listing will open the door for other MSOs who are scrambling to trade on major markets with access to larger investors and more liquidity, currently stuck trading on the OTC market or on the secondary Canadian Securities Exchange.
While he warns TerrAscend’s deal is complex and not easily replicable, he says he expects ‘a flood of companies to follow TerrAscend’s footsteps if this works out.’
Kanabo
LSE-listed Kanabo has also seen its shares jump by around 10% this week after it announced that its subsidiary has signed a new contract for the development of a new indoor cultivation facility in Spain.
Kanabo Agritech, of which Kanabo owns 40%, has reportedly penned a contract with Taima Growth SL which it described as ‘a pivotal step in Kanabo’s roadmap’.
Avihu Tamir, Kanabo’s CEO, said: “The high-quality supply chain that Agritec and Taima’s partnership offers not only ensures access to premium materials but also promises to generate profits and enhance shareholder value for The Group. We’re excited about this synergy and the immense potential it holds.”
The company expects the project to commence ‘in the next few months’, with the first phase lasting for a year, set to include the completion of the facility.
After Spain’s regulatory authority AEMPS grants a licence for Kanabo Agritech to produce cannabis, the company is ‘contracted to implement Phase 2’.
At the end of this eight to 12 month phase the facility will reportedly be capable of producing up to 3000kg of cannabis flower annually.
Concrete figures on the revenues it expects to generate from the project ‘are expected to be announced shortly’.
