The medical cannabis industry is creating all sorts of curious potential partnerships, including this one in Australia.
Impression Healthcare (ASX:IHL) is an Australian manufacturer and supplier of custom-fit mouthguards, which it produces in its own dental laboratory in Victoria. The company may soon also be distributing cannabinoid based products throughout Australia and New Zealand if all goes according to plan.
The company has inked a letter of intent and exclusivity agreement with the USA’s AXIM Biotechnologies. AXIM’s products include CanChew Gum. The gum, with ingredients derived from industrial hemp, is high in the non-intoxicating compound cannabidiol but low in THC.
The CanChew web site doesn’t make any specific claims about whether the full-spectrum hemp oil used to make the product can help with specific ailments due to FDA regulations (the company classes the gum as a nutraceutical rather than pharmaceutical), but the AXIM web site’s indication for CanChew+ is for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Another product, CanChew RL, will undergo clinical trials for treatment of restless leg syndrome.
AXIM’s flagship pharmaceutical product, MedChew Rx, is to undergo clinical trials targeting the treatment of pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients.
As well as seeking to distribute these products in Australia and New Zealand, the companies will also collaborate on the development of new products, including those related to issues affecting the mouth and throat.
“Impression will leverage its oral health marketing activities to explore opportunities distribute a range of AXIM’s over the counter and therapeutic products as public opinion of cannabinoid-based therapeutics steadily improves,” states Impression.
Axim believes it is essential for the company to focus on capturing international markets at this stage of its growth.
“Collaboration on development of new products and seeking of regulatory approval is the fastest and most cost-efficient way to expand into new markets, and we are happy to have found an experienced partner who will help us do just that,” said George E. Anastassov, Chief Executive Officer of Axim Biotech.
Axim was incorporated back in 2010 as Axim International, Inc, but in 2014 changed its name to Axim Biotechnologies, Inc.
