Canadian cannabis producer Aurora Cannabis has invested $1 million in CCT Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc, the developers of an oral dose-specific dissolving thin film wafer drug delivery technology. The investment, with a 5 percent convertible debenture, gives Aurora a 9.14 percent interest in CTT and the agreement includes issuance of warrants enabling Aurora to increase that ownership to 42.5 percent.
Aurora CEO Terry Booth said the investment reflects the company’s commitment “to science-based diversification into higher-margin drug delivery technologies for both the medical and adult consumer use markets.”
“The clinically-proven rapid onset of action of CTT’s wafers is a key differentiator that, we believe, will resonate strongly with physicians, patients and adult use consumers. This provides us with an important competitive advantage in the rapidly growing market segment for smoke-free form factors.” – Booth in a press release
Dr. Pankaj Modi, CTT CEO, said that Aurora’s investment increases the company’s “commercial and capital markets visibility.”
“We believe Aurora more than any other LP, provides the global distribution channels, regulatory affairs expertise, scale and manufacturing ability to successfully commercialize this unique technology on a global basis.” – Modi in a statement
Aurora has been busy this year as Canada moves toward federal cannabis legalization. Last week, the company announced it had come to terms to acquire cannabis producer MedReleaf in a $3.2 billion stock deal. In January, Aurora announced it had succeeded in its bid to take over CanniMed, and the company’s 800,000-square-foot Aurora Sky manufacturing facility received a cultivation license from Health Canada. In April, its wholly-owned German subsidiary became the first non-government supplier to ship medical cannabis to Italy.