VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veritas Pharma Inc. (CSE: VRT; OTC: VRTHF; and Frankfurt: 2VP) (“Veritas” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce corporate highlights and to communicate the company’s direction for the year ahead.
2018 and the first quarter of 2019 has been a transition period for Veritas Pharma, as the company has matured from being purely engaged in research and development to establishing a viable option for cannabis production in Canada, setting the stage for potential commercialization given positive clinical trial results on its lead pain treatment and appointing new leadership to the company.
Legal Proceedings
On March 4th, 2019, Veritas announced that it has begun a legal action against Liht Cannabis Corp. (Formerly Marapharm Ventures Inc.) to recover its loan of $1,000,000 (announced on July 27, 2018). Veritas Interim CEO, Mr. Peter McFadden, commented, “upon review of Veritas’ operations we became extremely concerned that Liht Cannabis has not made any attempts to repay the loan. We were also concerned about some anomalies in the manner in which this loan was made as well as the handling of an acquisition made by the company. Our continued efforts to come to a reasonable agreement with Liht were unsuccessful. As such, we believed that legal action was in the best interest of our shareholders and the best course of action to recover their money. We are confident in our case and will continue to aggressively act in the best interest of our shareholders.”
Research and Development
Veritas Pharma’s research arm, Cannevert Therapeutics (“CTL”), has continued its research and development throughout 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, without any significant interruption and has continued to develop and optimize its pharmacological models in order to identify the most effective cannabis treatments for various disease conditions. CTL continues to establish scientific evidence for the efficacy of its treatments by setting the standard in the Medical Marijuana Industry with measurable successes and clinical proof (as opposed to just anecdotal evidence).
CTL is currently engaged in researching the potential for cannabis in several therapeutic areas including acute pain, chronic pain, inflammation, and as an adjuvant to opioid therapy. Findings from these studies were presented in Q4 of 2018 as a series of oral and poster presentations at the annual scientific conference hosted by the British Pharmacological Society. A number of manuscripts discussing these findings are also in progress for submission to peer-reviewed journals.
CTL continues to set a precedent in the medicinal cannabis industry, having the capability to guide new clinical trials in coordination with its pre-clinical screening program. CTL’s goal is to provide cannabis industry with the tools for obtaining rigorous scientific evidence of therapeutic efficacy.
Additionally, upon review of CTL’s operations in Burnaby, BC, and the UBC research facilities, management has decided to withdraw from the lease at the Burnaby facility, saving the company a significant monthly premium for the building, and has decided to keep it’s research headquarters within UBC. CTL will also be applying for a standard processing license in the coming weeks within the micro facility in Kelowna. This will further CTL’s ability to process, sell, and commercially import & export product, thereby generating new revenue opportunities for the company to continue expanding, vertically integrate in the cannabis industry and support ongoing research and development.
Cannabis Production and Processing Facilities
On October 23, 2018, Veritas announced a strategic investment in a Cannabis production facility in Kelowna, BC. Through this agreement, Veritas will have a 25% ownership stake in a 10,000 square foot cannabis growing facility in advance stages of being licensed under the Health Canada Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”). This building will accommodate up to four Micro Grow licensees each with approximately 2,100 square feet of growing capacity and estimated production of 80kg each on an 8-week cycle. Veritas maintains an option to increase its ownership of this facility.
On February 12th, 2019, the company announced it has entered into an agreement with TG Initiatives Ltd., to purchase a commercial processing facility for hemp and cannabis materials capable of making a variety of products, including edibles for human and animal use. Additionally, this asset provides the capability to make a variety of natural topical creams for pain relief and other ailments.
This facility in combination with the Kelowna production facility will provide Veritas with the ability to control the supply of cannabis required for research, in addition to develop, process, and commercialize the requisite cannabis strains specific to pain management and eventually to assist in the treatment of other diseases and maladies.
Clinical Trials and Commercialization
On February 21st, 2019, Veritas began human clinical trials on its’ lead pain treatment, CTL-X. Veritas’ Medical Director, Dr. Scott Alexander, stated, “We are well underway on our analgesic clinical trial in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Thus far I have been very pleased by both the progress the team has made as well as the quality of the trials. Between March 27-29, Veritas’ monitoring team will be at FDI to ensure that our project is running smoothly and collect the first batch of clinical data for in-depth analysis. This is a very important step to ensure that the study remains consistent throughout the entire process. We expect that the clinical trials will be complete and data to be analyzed and results announced within the summer of 2019.”
In 2018 and early 2019 Veritas entered into several agreements with various licensed producers, marketing professionals and industry leaders in various jurisdictions with aims to set the stage for commercialization of its proprietary treatments, with CTL-X as its first potential product, in various global markets.
About Veritas Pharma Inc.
Veritas Pharma Inc. is an emerging pharmaceutical and IP development company, who, through its 100% owned subsidiary Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. (“CTL“), is advancing the science behind medical cannabis. It is the Company’s aim, through its investment in CTL, to develop the most effective cannabis strains (cultivars) specific to pain, nausea, epilepsy and PTSD, solving the critical need for clinical data to support medical marijuana claims. CTL’s unique value proposition uses a low-cost research and development model to help drive shareholder value and speed-to-market. Veritas’ investment in CTL is led by a strong management team, bringing together veteran academic pharmacologists, anesthetists & chemists. The Company’s commercial mission is to patent protect IP (cultivars & strains) and sell or license to cancer clinics, insurance industry and pharma, targeting multi-billion-dollar markets according to Deloitte’s Insights and Opportunities.
Veritas Pharma Inc. is a publicly traded company in Canada, on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the ticker VRT; in the United States, on the OTC under the ticker VRTHF; and in Germany, on the Frankfurt exchange under the ticker 2VP.
For more information, please visit our website: www.veritaspharmainc.com
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Peter McFadden"
Peter McFadden
Interim Chief Executive Officer & CFO
Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.veritaspharmainc.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on the CSE website at www.thecse.com.
Investor and Public Relations Contact
Veritas Pharma Inc.
Sam Eskandari
Telephone: +1.416.918.6785
Email: ir@veritaspharmainc.com
Website: www.veritaspharmainc.com
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