Cannabis Weekly Round-Up: Drug Maker Gets FDA Boost

During the past trading week (December 2 to 6), a cannabinoid-based drug manufacturer in Canada obtained critical status for one of its candidates in the US.

An executive at a Canadian marijuana producer was forced to address the volatility surrounding his company after a new acquisition was confirmed, and Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC,TSX:WEED) unveiled its lineup of edible and infused products, set to launch later this year.

Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest cannabis news over the week.

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Cannabis drug maker gets orphan drug designation

Tetra Bio-Pharma (TSXV:TBP,OTCQB:TBPMF) secured a critical orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) drug as a treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.

“This second (orphan drug designation) for cannabinoids demonstrates our innovation and successful drug development program that will soon include hepatocellular carcinoma,” Guy Chamberland, CEO and chief regulatory officer of the company, said.

The executive explained that the company will now move forward with a modified formulation of its drug for hepatocellular carcinoma as part of a clinical trial in Q1 2020.

Over the past trading week, shares of the company jumped nearly 50 percent thanks in large part to the drug classification from the regulatory authority.

Lineup of Cannabis 2.0 products comes into focus

Canopy Growth held an event in Toronto to unveil its line of infused and edible products as part of the second wave of marijuana legalization in Canada.

“It’s the first time that the legal industry has had an opportunity to compete with the black market … while allowing us to create new products that we believe will disrupt not only the cannabis industry, but the beverage alcohol industry as well,” Canopy Growth President Rade Kovacevic said in a presentation.

The executive told the Investing News Network (INN) that the plan is for the company to launch 30 products as part of the official debut of these items in Canada, while 20 other products are being developed for launch in 2020.

For a full breakdown of the new products and closeup pictures of the actual packages, click here to read INN’s full dispatch.

Market updates

Brazil is inching closer to opening up its medical cannabis market. This past week, the country’s National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) unveiled its regulation model for this proposed market.

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“Until now, the rules to access medical cannabis in Brazil were very restrictive, and this … has the objective to ease access,” Alfredo Pascual, an international analyst at Marijuana Business Daily, told INN.

Canadian pharmacy Shoppers Drug Mart, a Loblaw Companies (TSX:L,OTC Pink:LBLCF) division, confirmed it is expanding the availability of its online medical cannabis sales portal to now include British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“We expanded Medical Cannabis by Shoppers nationally to provide enhanced service to more patients so they can feel empowered to access medical cannabis through the medical market with the guidance of healthcare professionals,” said Jeff Leger, president of Shoppers Drug Mart.

The program offers patients products from 12 marijuana licensed producers in Canada.

After announcing a brand new acquisition, shares of WeedMD (TSXV:WMD,OTCQX:WDDMF) went down a tumultuous path. In response to the volatility, CEO Keith Merker wrote a letter to shareholders in an attempt to clarify the situation at the company before and after the transaction was made public.

“Capital has become scarce and expensive, and the adult-use market has been slower to ramp and at thinner margins for licensed producers than many originally anticipated,” Merker wrote to investors in his letter. “These market pressures have forced us, like many others, to reevaluate our business.”

WeedMD is pursuing a C$78 million all-share deal for Starseed Holdings, a fellow cannabis producer in Canada. The deal also includes a C$25 million investment into the resulting company from Starseed’s largest backer.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Cannabis for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Find out what experts say about profiting from the cannabis market in 2021!

  
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Trulieve Partners with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to Provide College Scholarships

Trulieve to donate $20,000 in scholarship funding and $15,000 to support leadership development

Trulieve Cannabis Corp . (CSE: TRUL) (OTC: TCNNF), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States today announced a new partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. Trulieve will donate $20,000 to help fund several college scholarships awarded to students who are attending one of the organization’s member-schools as part of Trulieve’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The $15,000 in talent funding is earmarked to support TMCF’s internship program, reaching a diverse talent pool of students and alumni from their 47 member-schools to provide immersive experiences at Trulieve.

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Trulieve Opens Tamarac’s First Dispensary, Marking 75th Florida Location

The new dispensary expands patient access to Florida’s largest inventory of medical cannabis products

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) (“Trulieve” or “the Company”), a leading and top-performing cannabis company based in the United States announced today the opening of a brand-new Florida dispensary, the Company’s 80th nationwide. The new location marks the Company’s first in Tamarac and third in Broward County expanding patient access to Florida’s largest and broadest assortment of high-quality medical cannabis products.

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Revive Therapeutics Provides Update on FDA Phase 3 Clinical Trial for Bucillamine in COVID-19 with Planned Completion and Emergency Use Authorization Request

Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (“Revive” or the “Company”) (CSE: RVV, USA: RVVTF), a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for medical needs and rare disorders, is pleased to announce an update on the Company’s U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) Phase 3 clinical trial (the “Study”) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bucillamine in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

With its recent $23 million dollar financing, the Company plans to aggressively expand from 14 clinical sites to up to 50 clinical sites to meet the next enrollment goals for the Study in Q2-2020. The Study is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial and the safety and efficacy data analyzed at each interim analysis timepoint of 210, 400, 600 and 800 completed patients are only made available to the Independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (“DSMB”) for review and recommendations on continuation, stopping or changes to the conduct of the Study. In the event of any serious safety concerns, the DSMB would be notified to determine any risks and provide its recommendations. To date, in this initial 210 interim point there have been no serious safety concerns that required the DSMB to be notified.

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HempFusion Wellness Announces Broadening of Share Liquidity With DTC Full-Service Eligibility

HempFusion Wellness Inc. (TSX:CBD.U) (OTCQX:CBDHF) (FWB:8OO) (“HempFusion” or the “Company”), a leading health and wellness CBD company utilizing the power of whole-food hemp nutrition, is pleased to announce that its common shares have been approved for DTC full-service eligibility in the United States by the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) and can now be both traded and serviced through DTC’s electronic book-entry system.

DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (“DTCC”) that provides clearing and settlement services for the financial markets and settles the majority of securities transactions in the United States. This electronic method of clearing securities speeds up the receipt of stock and cash and thus accelerates the settlement process for investors and brokers, enabling the stock to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms.

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CFN Enterprises Inc. Launches Cannabis News Series to Broadcast on Bloomberg, Newsmax & Fox Business

CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) (CFN Media) partners with FMW Media Works LLC to produce a regular series on the global cannabis markets to air on major financial news networks across the US. Initial segment features leading cannabis analyst and US Multi-State Operator (MSO)

CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the leading media network dedicated to the global legal cannabis, CBD and psychedelics industries, today announced that its inaugural news segment on the cannabis markets, “Cannabis Market Outlook for 2021,” will air on Bloomberg, Newsmax and Fox Business.

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