CannPal’s privatisation pays off as founder secures a major partnership for US market

Almost two years after buying back majority control of CannPal Animal Therapeutics from the recently delisted AusCann, CEO and founder Layton Mills has struck a major partnership agreement that could see the company’s medicinal cannabis products for pets commercialised in the US market.

CannPal has entered an option and purchase agreement with an unnamed party that the company describes as a “global top 10 animal health company” in a deal that gives the new partner the rights to commercialise CannPal’s innovative plant-based dermatology assets.

The new partner also has secured an option for the global rights, outside of Australia and New Zealand, to develop and commercialise CannPal’s lead pharmaceutical drug candidate CPAT-01, a cannabinoid drug treatment that targets pain and inflammation in companion animals.

"This partnership is a major milestone for CannPal,” says Mills, a former winner of the Sydney Young Entrepreneur Award - Health & Fitness. 

“It not only secures a path to continue with our CPAT-01 program but also validates the strength of our research and development, and the value we have created along the way.

“We are excited to embark on this next phase of growth with the support of a market leading partner with extensive experience in the animal health sector.”

To progress the CPAT-01 program, the partners have formed a joint steering committee to oversee the completion of a Phase 2C Dose Confirmation study during the option period, ahead of its Phase 3 registration studies.

In another significant development for CannPal, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent for the company’s novel cannabinoid formulation for pain in dogs. The liquid treatment targets the treatment of pain, inflammation and anxiety.

CannPal says the original patent application was first filed in 2018 and supported by data generated from “a robust research and development program to identify an optimal ratio of cannabinoids, including THC, that would enable safe and effective treatment of dogs without the adverse effects commonly associated with cannabinoid use”.

“The research found that oral administration of the liquid composition does not result in any significant observed adverse events while achieving sufficient bioavailability of both cannabinoids to provide a beneficial biological response in the subject,” the company says.

While patents of this nature are granted for 20 years from the initial application, the delays by the patent office in examining the application have led to a two-year extension which gives CannPal rights until 29 July 2041 for its formulation.

The time involved in bringing medicinal cannabis products to the market have not been lost on Mills who, in a LinkedIn post, says “I’d be lying if I said the last couple of years weren’t challenging”.

“Following a difficult acquisition/divestment, shifting priorities post-pandemic, and a challenging economic environment, we quietly pushed on,” he says.

CannPal, which listed on the ASX in 2017, was acquired by fellow Australian medicinal cannabis company AusCann in a scrip-based deal worth $17.5 million in 2021, with Mills joining as the AusCann CEO.

However, in the wake of a pullback in the medicinal cannabis sector globally, AusCann sold 52 per cent of the company back to Mills and AusCann's chief scientific officer Dr Margaret Curtis in March last year. Mills stepped down as the AusCann CEO.

“Starting CannPal in 2016 was ambitious,” says Mills in his LinkedIn post.

“Developing cannabis-based animal health medicines for FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) registration wasn't a well-trodden path, especially for an Australian company.

“But through resilience and grit, we managed to hit a number of significant milestones against our prospectus when we listed in 2017.”

Among them Mills cites the company’s world-first cannabinoid-based clinical research involving more than 120 dogs across five major studies in less than three years.

“These weren't all controlled lab settings either; they involved client-owned pets, with two studies running during COVID’s peak when 'dog handovers' had to take place in masked-up carparks.

“Fast forward to today, CannPal has secured its first US patent, and a partnership with one of the largest animal health companies globally.

“These are milestones that not only validate our science and perseverance but reflect our team's grit and commitment to finishing what we started.”

Although AusCann was delisted from the ASX in August after failing to pay its annual listing fees to the securities exchange, the company retains a 48 per cent interest in CannPal.