Directorate Change, Renewal of Licence & Update

RNS Number : 8913V

Oxford Cannabinoid Tech.Holdings

12 April 2023

 

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc

("OCTP" or the "Company")

Permanent Appointment of Chief Executive Officer,

Renewal of Home Office Licence & Programmes Update

Permanent CEO appointment

OCTP is delighted to confirm the appointment of Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker as permanent CEO, effective immediately.

Clarissa has been with the Company for over four years and was appointed interim CEO in December 2022. Since then, she has successfully led the Company to its first submission to the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA") and the Wales Research Ethics Committee 2 ("REC 2"), whilst continuing to build stronger relationships with external stakeholders.

Renewal of Home Office Licence

The Company is also pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Limited ("OCT"), had its Home Office Licence renewed for the fifth consecutive year on 29 March 2023. The Licence permits OCT to possess and supply Schedule 1 drugs (as categorised by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971) for research purposes. This renewal is another significant milestone for the Company, demonstrating OCT's ongoing ability to meet the strict regulatory and legal requirements set down by the Home Office.

Programmes Update

Progress towards the commencement of Phase I clinical trial for its lead drug candidate, OCT461201, continues. The trial will commence upon receipt of approval from REC 2 and the MHRA, from which the Company expects to hear shortly.

Meanwhile, OCTP continues to advance its other programmes, with key developments including completion of the pre-clinical work for the Company's second programme OCT130401, which is now ready to enter Phase I. Development work on programmes 3 and 4 has continued and the Company still expects to be at pre-clinical and lead candidate stage for these programmes during Q2 2023. Now that Programme 2 is Phase 1 ready further work will be placed on hold as will work on Programmes 3 and 4 once they have progressed to pre-clinical and lead stage respectively.

Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker, Chief Executive Officer of OCTP, commented:

"I am proud and privileged to be leading the Company and our excellent team at such a crucial stage in our development. Our aim is to get our new medicines into the hands of patients who need them as quickly as possible. The team is working very hard to ensure that we hit the ground running on receipt of MHRA/REC 2 approval for our Phase I clinical trial, news of which we expect shortly.

"We are also delighted to have received our new licence from the Home Office.  The licence underpins our ability to conduct research and I'm sure the significance of this achievement will not be lost on our many stakeholders."

Julie Pomeroy, Non-executive Chair of OCTP, commented:

"It is my pleasure, on behalf of the OCTP Board, to congratulate Clarissa on her appointment as permanent CEO of the Company. Since taking on the role on an interim basis Clarissa has demonstrated her dedication and ability to lead the Company as we continue to make significant progress towards our goals."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement.

Enquiries: Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker (CEO) [phone] [e-mail]  Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Emily Staples Jo Turner [phone] [phone] Axis Capital Markets Limited Richard Hutchison Walbrook PR Limited Paul Vann/Nick Rome [phone] [phone] [phone] [e-mail]

About Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc:

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc ("OCTP") is the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Ltd (together the "Group"), a pharmaceutical Group developing prescription cannabinoid medicines targeting the U$ multi-billion global pain market.

OCTP currently has a portfolio of four drug development programmes. Its lead compound, OCT461201, will initially target neuropathic and visceral pain (including irritable bowel syndrome ("IBS") and chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy ("CIPN")), with Phase I clinical trials, aimed at demonstrating safety and tolerability. Trial results are expected in Q2 2023.   The global market for CIPN alone was valued at US$1.61bn in 2020 and is forecast to reach US$2.37bn by the year 2027.

OCTP's drug development pipeline, comprises both natural and synthetic compounds, and includes compounds targeting trigeminal neuralgia, a severe type of face pain, and cannabinoid derivatives targeting pain and potentially other therapeutic areas. Having established an exclusive license agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation for their entire pharmaceutical cannabinoid derivative library, OCTP now has a portfolio of almost 500 derivatives and intellectual property rights including 14 patent families and associated research data.

OCTP has a clearly defined path to commercialisation, revenues and growth. The Group is developing drug candidates through clinical trials to gain regulatory approval (FDA/MHRA/EMA) that will enable medical professionals to prescribe them with confidence. OCTP's portfolio aims to balance risk, value and time to market, whilst ensuring market exclusivity around all its key activities.

Caution regarding forward looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''potentially'', "expect", ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.

 

END

 

 

MSCBFLLFXZLEBBX