An innovative new cannabis product has been attracting a lot of attention among consumers, yet the proprietary technology and science behind it offers nearly unlimited drug delivery possibilities.
Ontario-based
Rapid Dose Therapeutics Corp. (CSE: DOSE, Forum) is a brand-new publicly-traded life sciences Company, revolutionizing drug delivery technologies designed to improve patient outcomes and the quality of people’s lives.
The Company has three divisions: Its cannabis arm, which works with licensed producers (LPs in Canada & Europe and growers in the US) to deliver THC and CBD oral thin film strip products, a nutraceutical division which produces its flagship QuickStrip™ Health Canada approved product line, delivering Vitamin B12, caffeine, and melatonin, and then rounded out by its pharmaceutical vertical, managing research and development on new products coming through the pipeline.
QuickStrip™ is a unique product with a proprietary delivery system — where the compounds of the active ingredients are broken down at a molecular level and delivered directly into the bloodstream when placed under the tongue (sublingually) or inside the cheek (buccal). QuickStrip™ is an oral thin film that can be infused with nearly any active ingredient.
This unique product boasts a number of advantages:
- Quick delivery to the bloodstream for fast effects
- Precise, single dose packaging
- Discreet dosing offers privacy
- Convenient and portable
- No water or swallowing required
- Bypass the digestive tract and liver
There is a lot to deliver with such a thin film strip — Rapid Dose Therapeutics has mastered this via the QuickStrip™ verticals.
Cannabis:
One of the early sectors to benefit from this proprietary technology. By placing QuickStrip™ under the tongue, the cannabis product enters the bloodstream quickly, meaning rapid results are felt by the consumer. Compared to pills, edibles or drinks, where the active ingredient is degraded in the digestive track and takes longer to metabolize — QuickStrip™ can deliver the cannabis product significantly faster and requires less active ingredient for the same result.
This is unique technology with a major benefit for consumers that offers a Smoke-Free Choice™ for patients who want to experience the medical benefits of cannabis while reducing stigma and the known risks associated with smoking or vaping. QuickStrip™ is both discreet and non-invasive for both medical and recreational consumers.
Two words that should pique an investors attention —
recurring revenue: RDT is driving its rapid expansion into emerging markets and generating value for shareholders and consumers through its service-based annuity contracts. Each contract with its partners operates on a five-year commitment cycle. The Company does not touch the cannabis leaf or distillates, but RDT’s clients, the LPs and growers do. Through these agreements, RDT’s role is to provide the delivery system, manufacturing equipment, and knowhow to these LPs and growers. This enables the LPs to produce QuickStrip™ with their own strain of cannabis distillate and provide an ideal delivery alternative to their cannabis consumers. It is through these partnerships that the Company can quickly extend its reach and find new markets to introduce QuickStrip™.
Two key partnerships announced are with Aphria Inc. and Thrive Cannabis. Thrive will sell oral thin film strips with RDT's proprietary QuickStrip™ technology, using their cannabis distillates under a white label production agreement. This agreement will enable Thrive to offer a distinct group of products and also opens the door to third party production for LPs who seek to provide QuickStrip™ where it would not otherwise be feasible on their own, given the costs and technical complexities of producing the oral thin film strip delivery system.
This cost-effective solution for both RDT and Thrive will maximize the use of RDT's production capacity, while enabling Thrive, and contracted producers, to offer its customer base a Smoke-Free Choice™ for cannabis delivery.
The Company signed a deal in late 2018 with
Aphria Inc. (TSX: APHA, NYSE: APHA), where the cannabis industry heavyweight secured
exclusive global preferred rights to license, manufacture, distribute and sell the proprietary QuickStrip™ delivery technology for both medical and adult-use cannabis market. This offers the ability to white label / private brand label growing for other growers in Canada, Europe, and other countries yielding the potential to amplify RDT’s QuickStrip™ product reach. This further boasts QuickStrip™ co-branding to differentiate from any potential competitors and widens consumer adoption for RDT’s QuickStrip delivery system.
The two companies enhanced their partnership to see Aphria granted exclusive preferred rights to bring RDT's QuickStrip to the largest medical cannabis market in Europe —
Germany. Rapid Dose Therapeutics now has a foothold in a very sought-after market with a global cultivator offering a huge milestone for a young Company. Aphria is a shareholder of RDT, having acquired a 9.7 per-cent interest in the Company – proof that the industry giant believes in this delivery system and the potential for its use globally.
Germany is just one major market Rapid Dose has ventured into. Las Vegas, Nevada is another. The Company
signed an agreement with leading cannabis cultivator, producer, and innovator
Flower One Holdings Inc. (CSE: FONE, OTCQB: FLOOF). Flower One has carved out a successful segment of the state’s extremely lucrative cannabis market. With access to a majority of dispensaries in Las Vegas, a city that sees an average of 55 million tourists from across the world annually. That is a market nearly one and a half times greater than the population of Canada. In 2018, the state reported $529 million in recreational, medicinal and cannabis-related products. When many of these tourists arrive, they’ll be able to purchase one of many QuickStrip cannabis products available for retail across the city.
Rapid Dose Therapeutics is also moving quickly into the other highly lucrative market – California. It has even managed to include the Latin American market through its
third agreement, signed with
Chemesis International Inc. (CSE: CSI, OTC: CADMF), who is also currently operating in California and Puerto Rico. Under this agreement,
Chemesis opened its state-of-the-art facility to RDT to further strengthen its position in the California cannabis market, which has been estimated to reach
$5.1 billion within this year.
The discreet, precisely dosed, individually packaged, and convenient QuickStrip™ product is a potential game-changer for cannabis consumers. The Company has positioned itself well to mitigate the risk and volatility within the market and quickly expand globally while leveraging the cannabis opportunity for investors.
This potential extends beyond the lucrative cannabis market as RDT’s delivery system can be applied to anything from melatonin to vitamins, thus paving the way into the lucrative nutraceuticals space.
Nutraceuticals:
The Company’s nutraceutical line is where the broader potential lies in addition to the cannabis market. Here is where some uncharted value of the QuickStrip™ system can be found.
Its nutraceutical line of products, which range from energy via caffeine, vitamin B12 and melatonin-aided sleep, serve as both an educational platform on the QuickStrip™ delivery system, but also an advertisement for what it can do.
This delivery alternative is a preferable alternative to traditional oral products, which are known to take effect more slowly and pass through the digestive system which can affect the delivered dosage. In a March 2019 interview with
Nutraceutical World Magazine, RDT Marketing and Communications Director, Kristina Shea explained that by directly entering the bloodstream, the QuickStrip™ delivery system can also bypass t he gastrointestinal tract and liver
—“Ensuring the consumer loses as little of the dose as possible to breakdown by the body before the user can experience the effect.”
When someone swallows a pill, a significant percent of the active ingredient could be lost due to the metabolism process. The amount that survives this process can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours to take effect. RDT’s QuickStrip™ production technique involves micronizing the active ingredient, including cannabis distillate, and those very small particles are then embedded into the QuickStrip — a proprietary matrix. Compared to ingestion, QuickStrip™ enhances bioavailability when placed under the tongue on the cheek. The active ingredient or cannabis distillate can be quickly delivered to the bloodstream.
Needles can be unpleasant to say the least and as much as
40 per-cent of people have trouble swallowing pills. Those suffering from gastrointestinal (GI) issues can experience poor absorption of medication, so taking medicine sublingually right into the bloodstream can address these issues.
Company leadership noted in an interview with Stockhouse editorial that its recent investigations with medical professionals showed that IBD patients and those with GI issues who required B12 shots were instead able to utilize QuickStrip™ Vitamin B12. The Company is continuing to study the use of QuickStrip™ with a focus on health and wellness and how this transformative delivery system could promote lifestyle enhancements.
Working with the medical and education industries is a commitment and key differentiator for Rapid Dose Therapeutics. RDT continues its ongoing studies with global academic universities that are examining everything from the therapeutic delivery system, to enhanced onset, to application of nutraceuticals, CBD, cannabis, and more. Being science-backed provides more stability for the Company as an investment opportunity for its future pharmaceutical endeavours.
Pharmaceuticals:
Looking further down RDT’s pipeline, the Company is assessing the potential of its QuickStrip™ delivery system and its technology. There are broad segments of society who could benefit from this system, from recreational cannabis users to the major segment of the population enduring basic “pill fatigue”. The CBD market is rife with opportunity and the Company is in the midst of conducting studies with researchers assessing its application as a medicine for pain management.
Rapid Dose Therapeutics is well established in five locations – Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico, Nevada and California, with partners who can provide a range of benefits for the Company. In turn, RDT can educate these LP and grower clients how to “microdose” their strips with precise dosage, effectively making the most from their unique strains of cannabis.
As the Company continues to grow its R&D, it already has a list of milestones, such as soon to be available for retail in Las Vegas with Flower One, along with numerous patents pending and with trademarks filed in the U.S. and Canada. Its leadership believes R&D is the key to its future growth and intends to continue to invest in its people, having already grown its staff substantially in a short time. Situated in a prime location, the Greater Toronto Area is in close proximity to strong talent and universities, along Southern Ontario’s tech-innovation sector. The Company is investing in advanced manufacturing and equipment with a strategic outlook — from nutraceutical to pharmaceutical as it continues to develop its product pipeline.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.