New Agreement with Dalriada Drug Discovery Inc.

RNS Number : 1949T

Oxford Cannabinoid Tech.Holdings

23 November 2021

 

23 November 2021

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc

New agreement signed with Dalriada Drug Discovery Inc. of Canada ("Dalriada")

· Dalriada agreement to propel OCT R&D activities by evaluating the cannabinoid derivatives acquired under the exclusive licence agreement with Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy") to advance Programmes 3 and 4, targeting pain, neurology, and inflammation

· Canopy's library includes 335 cannabinoid derivatives, 14 patent families and related intellectual property

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc ("OCTP" or the "Company"), the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Ltd ("OCT", together, the "Group"), a company developing licensed prescription cannabinoid medicines for approval by regulatory agencies worldwide and targeting the U$ multi-billion pain market, is pleased to announce that OCT has signed an important new drug development agreement with Dalriada.

The agreement with Dalriada, a Canadian company which provides drug discovery, medicinal chemistry and intellectual property services to pharmaceutical companies, will provide R&D activities on compounds OCT accessed as part of its exclusive, worldwide licence agreement signed with Canopy, announced on 22 September 2021. OCT's exclusive license includes Canopy's entire cannabinoid derivative library, comprising 335 derivatives, intellectual property rights constituting 14 patent families, and associated product research and development.

Dalriada  designed, synthesized and experimentally tested all of the compounds in the Canopy library. OCT will be able to leverage Dalriada's existing knowledge and experience as it continues research and development aimed at identifying multiple drug candidates targeting indications in pain, neurology, inflammation and oncology. A goal of the collaboration is the selection of two drug candidates ready for pre-clinical development by the end of 2022.

OCTP Chief Executive, Dr John Lucas, said: "Whilst our main focus remains pain therapy, the collaboration with Dalriada, in synergy with the strategic collaborations recently announced, will enable us to expand and differentiate our efforts into other therapeutic areas including neurology, oncology and inflammation. Working with the team that helped Canopy to develop its library is hugely exciting for OCT and will help us get the very best out of that important acquisition."

Dalriada Chief Executive and co-founder, Diana Kraskouskaya said: "Dalriada looks forward to supporting OCT advance the cannabinoid derivative library we helped discover. Targeting the endogenous cannabinoid system with small molecules holds significant promise in delivering improved therapies and over the years, we have significantly invested in building our expertise and infrastructure in this pharmacology as well as our work with controlled substances.  Together we are well equipped to rapidly advance OCT's pipeline through hit-to-lead and lead optimization."

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 Dr John Lucas (CEO) Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker (COO)	[phone] [e-mail] [e-mail]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Emily Staples Jo Turner	[phone] [phone]
Walbrook PR Limited Paul Vann Nick Rome	[phone] [phone] [e-mail]
Harbor Access LLC Richard Leighton Jonathan Paterson	[e-mail] [phone]

About Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc :

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc ("OCTP") is the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Ltd ("OCT"), a pharmaceutical company developing prescription cannabinoid medicines for approval by key medicines regulatory agencies worldwide and targeting the U$ multi-billion pain market (together the "Group"). Cannabinoids are compounds found in the cannabis plant that have been shown to have a range of therapeutic effects on the body, including pain relief. The Group 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.

The Group's portfolio aims to balance risk, value and time to market, whilst ensuring market exclusivity around all its key activities. The Group's lead compound, OCT461201, is a highly potent and selective CB2 agonist and is being developed by OCT in a solid oral dosage form. OCT is conducting pre-clinical testing and development with pre-clinical trials scheduled for 2022. The Group's product pipeline also uses a balanced drug product strategy that employs phytocannabinoids, cannabinoid derivatives and other novel compounds for the treatment of pain.

OCTP operates a partnership model with external academic and commercial partners, including the University of Oxford.

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.

 

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