In this edition of "Rising High," The Fly conducted an exclusive interview with Rob Davidson, chief executive officer of CURE Pharmaceutical Holdings (CURR), a vertically-integrated drug delivery and development company. Here are some of the highlights:
VERTICAL INTEGRATION: CURE Pharmaceutical is a drug delivery and development company with a proprietary formulation and delivery platform CUREform. The platform includes the company’s oral dissolvable film formulation CUREfilm, which aims to make medications easier to take, more efficacious and with fewer side effects. Davidson said when the company began, CURE was looking at delivering medication to pediatric patients more effectively in emerging markets “We were dealing with pediatric malaria patients and they had to mix powders into drinking water,” he said. “It was difficult to find really clean drinking water in some of these countries in Africa so we looked to develop a platform drug delivery technology that could be used in multiple dose forms. Thin film was the staple product we were looking at and we started developing it and realized we have to scale it up and we have to manufacture it.” The CEO said CURE really wanted to control the supply chain and make it cost-effective as well. “We want to be able to do this for not just one active, we want to be able to do this for all medicines and the best way is to integrate from feasibility all the way through commercialization. We wanted to really make sure we control the process, have the best quality control and the best product that we can deliver to the marketplace.”
COMPETITIVE EDGE: When asked about the company’s key differentiators, Davidson pointed to vertical integration as one point of difference. “The ability to take something from feasibility to concept all the way through to the market ourselves, I think that allows us to pivot and move fast in a multitude of verticals,” he said. “We have what we call the pharmaceutical vertical, which is for prescription drugs, and then we have the cannabis vertical. We are a DEA Schedule I licensed facility, we’re an FDA registered facility and we work with cannabis from research development.” The CEO also noted the company’s wellness vertical for developing and delivering wellness products to the body more effectively as well. “That’s the mousetrap that we developed,” he said. “How do you get these actives into the body without degradation, higher bioavailability, and just a better product with quality dosing, precise dosing, quality assurance and quality control? That’s really key to us so we utilize that platform in multiple verticals.”
The CEO also noted a recent study that found that CURE’s 25mg cannabidiol oral thin film showed improved bioavailability of cannabidiol in healthy subjects, compared with 25mg soft gels. The pharmacokinetic study in 14 healthy adults showed a significantly higher serum concentration and significantly faster absorption from CURE’s CBD OTF dose form than from a commercially available CBD soft gel. “You see a lot of consumers buying CBD and they’re not sure what they’re buying, they’re not even sure if the CBD is in there or if it precise or not,” Davidson said. “The problem with a lot of these molecules is it’s very difficult to deliver into the body and get the high bioavailability. Typically what happens, especially with these lipophilic molecules like cannabinoids, they basically get degradated in the gut and by the time it gets into the blood, it’s at an extremely low percentage. What we have shown in the clinical study just recently is that we were able to deliver much higher amounts of active into the blood at very fast time intervals.” The CEO added the ability to deliver more active faster at higher levels in the blood can potentially lead to taking a lower dose and decreasing the side effects of that medication. “That’s kind of our driver,” he said. “How do we deliver drugs more effectively, wellness products more effectively, nutraceuticals more effectively and have to use less of it with less side effects?” The CEO said the thin film also has potential for emergency medicine as it drives the active into the blood faster without injecting. “Our big point of differentiation between competitors is we have a better way of delivering the actives more effectively and you know what you’re getting is precise dosing,” he said. “It’s manufactured at a pharmaceutical FDA registered facility, we have the DEA schedule 1 license and we’re an NSF GMP certified company and facility. We do everything, no matter what, as if its pharmaceutical.”
SERA LABS ACQUISITION: CURE announced last Thursday that it anticipates closing its acquisition of Sera Labs, a health, wellness and beauty brand marketing and distribution platform, in early October. The transaction consists of an up-front payment of $20M and also includes an initial, additional commitment of $4M for working capital in support of accelerating Sera Labs’ growth as well as earn out incentives of up to an additional $20M in CURE stock at a valuation of $3.34 per share within two years. Davidson said the acquisition is part of CURE’s vertical integration strategy. “We have a platform drug delivery technology that lends itself to multiple verticals,” he said. “We’re very excited about the wellness component of the vertical and being able to deliver our technology and our product line through the wellness vertical. What Sera Labs had was a distribution channel, they had a direct-to-consumer distribution channel and the retail channel as well.” The CEO said he liked Sera Labs’ direct-to-consumer channel as it is a proprietary platform with continuity programs, membership programs and outreach. “The critical mass movement in purchasing right now is not retail, it’s really direct-to-consumer,” he said. “Obviously with the pandemic, less people are going to retail channels, more people are looking at ordering online and they’re looking for the quality platforms for wellness to guide them and Sera Labs has developed that out.” Davidson said he thinks CURE has a great opportunity to integrate its technology into Sera Labs current product line as well as integrating its product line into Sera Labs distribution channel. “It’s a great integration of taking a product from feasibility and getting it to the consumer through those channels,” he said. “That’s what is really exciting for us on the Sera Labs deal.”
The CEO added he also believes their platform lends itself to a telewellness play. “Consumers are looking to take care of their own health and they are information hungry but it’s really difficult to get good information,” he said. “We are taking the opportunity to develop this telewellness platform using Sera Labs already proprietary platform and integrating a telewellness component.” He said consumers will be able go online and look up information on their needs. “People can pull the actual studies down and see for themselves why this ingredient may be effective or not be effective and what are the potential complications and contraindications,” he said. “There’s a lot of information on the web, if you google something you can find it but you’re not sure is that good information, has anyone vetted that information and is it peer-reviewed. We’re building that wellness library.”
CHALLENGES: When asked about the biggest challenges facing the cannabis industry, the CEO cited lack of regulation as well as the overregulation within the space. “It’s a nightmare,” he said. “You have some components being overregulated, this being a Schedule I when it shouldn’t be, and then you have underregulations because of this gray regulatory climate that no one really knows what’s going to happen and you have lots of companies out there making product.” Davidson said the absence of regulation for these companies sparks concerns over whether cGMP manufacturing processes are in place or if the companies are ensuring they do not have solvents or metals in the products. “That’s a scary component of the lack of regulatory,” he said. “That climate keeps changing and nobody knows where it’s going, so it’s really difficult to position to be ready for that.” The CEO added CURE is as prepared as it can be, noting its cGMP certification and FDA registration. “We have everything in place but a lot of these companies and brands that are currently selling CBD, they’re in a difficult place because they’re going to have to pivot fast once regulatory is defined,” he said. “That’s a difficult challenge to face. Hopefully they’re looking ahead and taking those steps now, but the unknown is always the challenge.”
OPPORTUNITIES: As the cannabis space develops, Davidson said he see opportunities in the potential for consolidation as well as research on the therapeutic effects of other terpenes and cannabinoids. “I think you’re going to see the need for a lot of these companies to align with companies like us because we have all the processes in place,” he said. “We also have technology that we can help companies deliver their products more effectively.” The CEO said he believes there is ton of opportunity from that perspective. “I think what I’m really excited about is looking at some of the therapeutic effects of some of these other terpenes, flavonoids and cannabinoid minors that are being studied right now and showing great effect for sleep and recovery,” he said. “It’s not just CBD, it’s not just THC, it’s a plethora of biologically active molecules within the plant and they’re starting to be defined and studied. To me that’s very exciting, I think we have great opportunity to be the delivery format behind those molecules.” Davidson added he is also excited about the Sera Labs acquisition. “It does give us the ability to control our own destiny with selling wellness products and, potentially down the road other, products in the telemedicine space but it’s a significant pivot point for us because its revenue grows rapidly,” he said. “It really allows us to start creating a nice revenue stream for the company so we’re pretty excited about that and taking advantage of the distribution channels that they’ve already built.”
CANNABIS STOCKS: Other publicly-traded companies in the space include Akerna (KERN), Aleafia (ALEAF), Aphria (APHA), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Auxly Cannabis (CBWTF), Biome Grow (BIOIF), CannTrust (CTST), Canopy Growth (CGC), Canopy Rivers (CNPOF), CordovaCann (LVRLF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Cronos Group (CRON), CV Sciences (CVSI), Delta 9 (VRNDF), FluroTech (FLURF), General Cannabis (CANN), Greenlane (GNLN), Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Harborside (HSDEF), HEXO (HEXO), Hemp Inc. (HEMP), India Globalization Capital (IGC), Indiva (NDVAF), Indus Holdings (INDXF), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), Khiron Life Sciences (KHRNF), Liberty Health Sciences (LHSIF), MediPharm (MEDIF), MedMen (MMNFF), MJardin (MJARF), Neptune Wellness (NEPT), Omnicanna (ENDO), Organigram (OGI), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Sproutly (SRUTF), Sunniva (SNNVF), Supreme Cannabis (SPRWF), Valens (VLNCF), Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBPMF), Tilray (TLRY), Trulieve (TCNNF), Vireo Health (VREOF), Wayland Group (MRRCF), WeedMD (WDDMF), Wildflower Brands (WLDFF), YSS Corp. (YSSCF), Zynerba (ZYNE) and 4Front Ventures (FFNTF).
CURE Pharmaceutical
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APHA
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Aurora Cannabis
+0.015 (+0.32%)
CV Sciences
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CannTrust
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Canopy Growth
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Cronos Group
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Trees Corporation
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IGC Pharma
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Tilray
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Trulieve Cannabis
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ZYNE
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