$CANLF - Focus on speed, cost already paying off f
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Posted On: 06/11/2014 1:10:11 AM
$CANLF - Focus on speed, cost already paying off for Cannabis Technologies
What could be better than being a listed company in a sector loved by the investing public? Why, being in two hot sectors at the same time, of course. That fortunate circumstance is working well for new Canadian Securities Exchange issuer Cannabis Technologies (CSE:CAN), with its share price rising more than 88% since its debut on May 21 of this year, and often finishing as one of the daily volume leaders.
It is a level of success that comes as no surprise to President and CEO Craig Schneider, as when he quarterbacked a move from the TSX Venture Exchange and the concurrent acquisition of BSI Sciences, this is the outcome he envisioned for shareholders.
As one might guess from its name, Cannabis Technologies is committed to taking advantage of the shifting regulatory landscape and increasing public acceptance of cannabis and its numerous medicinal qualities in North America. Unlike most listed companies making news in the space, however, Cannabis Technologies has its feet planted firmly in the pharmaceutical development sector as well.
It is a marriage of business concepts that brings opportunity for rapid growth at a dramatically reduced cost, as the company targets only ailments for which it can make all-natural treatments. Why that matters, as Schneider explains, is that developing synthetic drugs can take 3 times as long, and 8 or 9 times the money. Needless to say, it is better to have one’s product to market 4 years from now than 15 years from now.
Mirroring the strategy employed by industry leader GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), Schneider plans to have large pharmaceutical companies take over the spending and work once Cannabis Technologies has advanced a cannabis-based drug candidate through initial discovery to pre-clinical and successfully through Phase I clinical trials.
Larger pharmaceutical companies should be interested if Schneider’s call on drug delivery is right. The CEO believes that efficient treatment is best conducted by ingesting cannabinoids though conventional delivery vehicles such as tablets. Smoking cannabis damages both lungs and leads to intoxication, one side effect which nobody would want, and the other sought after only by some patients.
“The way I see medical marijuana going is strictly big pharmaceutical,” explains Schneider. “There is no doubt in any of our minds that this is where the future of medical marijuana is headed.” Larger companies would cover Phase II and III trials costs in return for licensing arrangements.
Another way to control costs is to control inputs. Interestingly, different strains of cannabis can have vastly different qualities, some being very high in the THC component that causes intoxication, with others weighted toward the cannabidiols required for certain types of medicinal treatments. Quality control is very important for pharmaceutical producers, and for Cannabis Technologies “growing your strains is a revenue stream baked into the company if you get a product to market.” Schneider feels the company is about 9 months away from starting work on this level of vertical integration.
Fortunately for Cannabis Technologies, it has the personnel to excel at both activities. “We have two individuals who are debatably the best in their fields in North America,” says Schneider.
Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Sazzad Hossain combines experience with mid-tier and “big pharma”, with extensive work at Canada’s National Research Council. “He really knows how to navigate the space,” Schneider explains. Dr. Hyder A. Khoja, Director of Botanical Research and Cultivation, will oversee breeding and strain development, a role that fits perfectly thanks to 17 years of experience in genomics, plant physiology and related fields.
Schneider anticipates having treatments in the pipeline for two indications very soon, and says the goal within 18 months is to have a dozen individual treatments in either discovery, pre-clinical or clinical testing. That may sound unreasonably quick to investors with experience in the pharmaceutical sector, but between its focus on natural products and the company’s proprietary Cannabinoid drug design platform, Schneider is highly confident in his timelines, not to mention the ability to run a tight ship that gets treatments through Phase I without shareholders having to incur the heavy dilution common to so many small pharmaceutical companies.
Overall, it is “just a real simple company and business model,” says Schneider. “Bio-pharma with two business units -- drug discovery/development and breeding/cultivation…and we cover both with the team we have in place.”
Cannabis Technologies closed Friday June 6 at 66 Canadian cents on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/n...54622.html
What could be better than being a listed company in a sector loved by the investing public? Why, being in two hot sectors at the same time, of course. That fortunate circumstance is working well for new Canadian Securities Exchange issuer Cannabis Technologies (CSE:CAN), with its share price rising more than 88% since its debut on May 21 of this year, and often finishing as one of the daily volume leaders.
It is a level of success that comes as no surprise to President and CEO Craig Schneider, as when he quarterbacked a move from the TSX Venture Exchange and the concurrent acquisition of BSI Sciences, this is the outcome he envisioned for shareholders.
As one might guess from its name, Cannabis Technologies is committed to taking advantage of the shifting regulatory landscape and increasing public acceptance of cannabis and its numerous medicinal qualities in North America. Unlike most listed companies making news in the space, however, Cannabis Technologies has its feet planted firmly in the pharmaceutical development sector as well.
It is a marriage of business concepts that brings opportunity for rapid growth at a dramatically reduced cost, as the company targets only ailments for which it can make all-natural treatments. Why that matters, as Schneider explains, is that developing synthetic drugs can take 3 times as long, and 8 or 9 times the money. Needless to say, it is better to have one’s product to market 4 years from now than 15 years from now.
Mirroring the strategy employed by industry leader GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), Schneider plans to have large pharmaceutical companies take over the spending and work once Cannabis Technologies has advanced a cannabis-based drug candidate through initial discovery to pre-clinical and successfully through Phase I clinical trials.
Larger pharmaceutical companies should be interested if Schneider’s call on drug delivery is right. The CEO believes that efficient treatment is best conducted by ingesting cannabinoids though conventional delivery vehicles such as tablets. Smoking cannabis damages both lungs and leads to intoxication, one side effect which nobody would want, and the other sought after only by some patients.
“The way I see medical marijuana going is strictly big pharmaceutical,” explains Schneider. “There is no doubt in any of our minds that this is where the future of medical marijuana is headed.” Larger companies would cover Phase II and III trials costs in return for licensing arrangements.
Another way to control costs is to control inputs. Interestingly, different strains of cannabis can have vastly different qualities, some being very high in the THC component that causes intoxication, with others weighted toward the cannabidiols required for certain types of medicinal treatments. Quality control is very important for pharmaceutical producers, and for Cannabis Technologies “growing your strains is a revenue stream baked into the company if you get a product to market.” Schneider feels the company is about 9 months away from starting work on this level of vertical integration.
Fortunately for Cannabis Technologies, it has the personnel to excel at both activities. “We have two individuals who are debatably the best in their fields in North America,” says Schneider.
Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Sazzad Hossain combines experience with mid-tier and “big pharma”, with extensive work at Canada’s National Research Council. “He really knows how to navigate the space,” Schneider explains. Dr. Hyder A. Khoja, Director of Botanical Research and Cultivation, will oversee breeding and strain development, a role that fits perfectly thanks to 17 years of experience in genomics, plant physiology and related fields.
Schneider anticipates having treatments in the pipeline for two indications very soon, and says the goal within 18 months is to have a dozen individual treatments in either discovery, pre-clinical or clinical testing. That may sound unreasonably quick to investors with experience in the pharmaceutical sector, but between its focus on natural products and the company’s proprietary Cannabinoid drug design platform, Schneider is highly confident in his timelines, not to mention the ability to run a tight ship that gets treatments through Phase I without shareholders having to incur the heavy dilution common to so many small pharmaceutical companies.
Overall, it is “just a real simple company and business model,” says Schneider. “Bio-pharma with two business units -- drug discovery/development and breeding/cultivation…and we cover both with the team we have in place.”
Cannabis Technologies closed Friday June 6 at 66 Canadian cents on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/n...54622.html
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