Canntab Executives: Building a Cannabis Product Line that Straddles the Medicinal and Recreational Markets

Canntab (CSE:PILL) CEO Jeff Renwick and CFO Rich Goldstein have worked with their company to develop strategic relationships with licensed producers like Emblem (TSXV:EMC,OTCMKTS:EMMBF) and FSD Pharma (CSE:HUGE), providing them with access to state-of-the-art facilities.

In the interview below Renwick and Goldstein provided insight on their partnerships, upcoming catalysts and changes to their advisory team.

Below is a transcript of our interview with Canntab CEO Jeff Renwick and CFO Rich Goldstein. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Investing News Network: Please give our investor audience an overview of Canntab and its proprietary cannabis delivery technology.

Canntab CEO Jeff Renwick: Canntab has developed technologies for solid oral dosage in both instant release and sustained release cannabis tablets. Our technology allows us to adjust the variance of cannabinoids and all the other medicinal cannabis ingredients to suit a target audience.

Canntab CFO Rich Goldstein: We are working with full spectrum cannabis oil to develop three types of tablets: high-THC, CBD and a 50:50 combination. In the future, however, we want to develop customized tablets for specific conditions using our understanding of the benefits that stem from the cannabis plant.

JR: Our tablets, which come in 2.5, 5.0 and 10 milligram doses, make it easier for doctors to prescribe specific doses and work up towards a 10 milligram marker, while also keeping the patient on a specific consumption timetable. The extended release product also allows the patient to experience relief over a long period of time.

We have found that the instant release tablet is far superior to any form of oil gel capsule sold in the market. Oil is not particularly soluble and has many issues regarding bioavailability. Our tablet has proven to be more bioavailable, more stable and more tamper-resistant than an oil-seal gel cap.

INN: Canntab recently released its innovative hemp oil gel capsules. How are these different from other products on the market?

RG: Our hemp oil gel capsule is made from hemp seed oil, which has been approved by Health Canada, making our product immediately marketable. Hemp seed oil is low in CBD content, but has plenty of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are antioxidants that help protect the body’s cells.

The capsule uses coconut oil as the carrier, and contains lauric acid, which is effective in killing bacteria, fungi and certain viruses. It also helps increase the body’s expenditure of weight control and helps build muscle.

Today we are able to market and distribute a cannabis sativa product in a blister packed box at any retail location within Canada, legitimately, legally and with benefit to the consumer.

With the government’s approval of the Cannabis Act, we will be able to make full spectrum oil from industrial hemp, as opposed to the marijuana plant. This would contain more cannabinoid content, and could be considered a CBD-based natural health product.

In Markham, Canntab has a Health Canada licensed natural health products center and we are able to encapsulate the oil here and package it and will be able to sell it through our distribution channels, ranging from online to some of the biggest chain stores in Canada.

JR: The hemp seed oil capsule is a predecessor to our future high-CBD-based capsule, which will follow the legalization of the Industrial Hemp Act. It’s a way for us to test our packaging, prove out our product, showcase the brand and do some pre-marketing. Upon legalization, we hope to have an approval by the Natural Health Products Division for a 50 milligram CBD capsule as an extension of the HO Caps product line.

INN: Please tell us about your partnership with Emblem Corp and how that relationship has developed since its inception.

JR: Emblem Corp have positioned themselves as a leader in the medical cannabis industry. As part of our partnership, Emblem is providing us with marketing support, connecting us to their existing market presence for the launch of our tablets. Emblem is also our supplier for active cannabis ingredients, since we are formulators and not cultivators.

Emblem gives us access to a licensed cannabis facility, in which they have R&D and sales licenses. We have been able to build a manufacturing site within this building, allowing us to conduct R&D on the tablets using lawfully produced cannabis. We are also jointly making the submission to Health Canada. Upon approval, we will manufacture the product in their facility and Emblem will use its sales license to sell it. This will be until we get our own pharmaceutical plant fully licensed, where we will manufacture our tablets for commercial sale.

Most recently, we announced the successful dissolution testing of our tablets; therefore, meeting a payment milestone in our contract with Emblem. We are excited to be moving forward to a clinical study in humans and preceding down the regulatory pathway.

Lastly, Emblem has also secured supply agreements with government agencies including the Alberta government to supply cannabis, as well as with a dispensary group out West. As such, they’re helping to lock down distribution for us, while we’re locking down products for them.

INN: You recently signed an LOI with FSD Pharma, in what ways will this influence how Canntab conducts its business?

JR: FSD Pharma is a cannabis cultivation company that has taken over the Kraft plant in Cobourg, Ontario. They have the potential to develop a 3 million-square-foot facility. It is our intent to build an international manufacturing and packaging space within the site, where we would develop both high-THC and CBD products for the Canadian market, and also to manufacture for Emblem. In the future, we would also be able to commercially export from that facility.

It will be an in-house arrangement, where we will move into their facility, buy their raw materials, have access to their oil extraction technology and set up distribution channels down the road.

INN: You recently added a new member to your consulting team, Lorne Gertner. Please give us some insight into how this addition works in your favour.

RG: Lorne Gertner is considered one of the godfathers of the industry, going back many years. He has been an advocate for medicinal cannabis use, and even supported a group of patients that had to face legal ramifications for using cannabis. He had a vision for access to medicinal cannabis long before it was permitted.

He also has vast experience on the boards of a number of cannabis companies, including Emblem. He is a visionary and has developed a global network, which will allow us to develop new business opportunities. He joins us as part of an equity enticement, and we are grateful to have him.

INN: What opportunities will the opening of Canada’s recreational market in October offer Canntab and its investors?

RG: The approval of the recreational market is life changing for us. We’re seeing the emergence of a major industry, one which Canada will lead globally. Health Canada approval of our products will reverberate well around the world.

Until we have our Health Canada approval, there is not much we can do on the THC side. This is why 420 Therapeutics is focused on CBD product development, making use of industrial hemp oil. Once we get approval from Health Canada, however, we will be able to market our products through existing channels, be it the LCBO or private distribution centers, depending on the province or territory.

JR: Some of our products will be able to cross over from the medicinal market to the recreational one. Beyond our instant and extended release tablets, we are also developing an Rx gum. We have been able to take cannabinoids or full spectrum hemp oil and place it into a gum-based carrier that people could chew for instant satisfaction.

RG: We believe that there is a vast marketplace for self-medicators that straddle both the medicinal and the recreational markets. People today use medication to relax, relieve pain and sleep. Cannabis products like ours can do all of this without damaging your lungs and without adding any extra calories.

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