CANNAINVESTOR Magazine May / June 2017 | Page 244

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AusCann Group Provides Quarterly Overview

On 3 February 2017, AusCann successfully completed a reverse takeover of TWH Holdings (TWH) and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. As part of the transaction, the Company completed a $5million capital raise that received strong support from institutional and high net worth domestic and international investors. The capital raise provided the Company with the necessary funding to drive forward its Chilean cultivation operation and its licensing applications for growing operations in Australia. The Company is continuously being presented with opportunities in the sector and our Board is focused on balancing the ability to accelerate AusCann’s development and maximising returns to shareholders.

The Company’s share price has performed positively since listing, reflecting the strong positive market sentiment towards the sector. The Company closed the quarter with a cash position of $4.488 million.

OPERATIONAL

AusCann continues to leverage its partnership with Canopy Growth Corporation, one of Canada’s largest and leading medicinal cannabis companies, drawing on their expertise in the cultivation, manufacture and importation and exportation of products. Canopy is a substantial shareholder in AusCann, with approximately 11% shareholding, and an important strategic partner with AusCann able to import and sell Canopy’s products within the Australian market. Canopy’s experience and skilled management team will continue to support AusCann to the benefit of all shareholders. The Company is initially targeting the treatment of neuropathic and chronic pain, which have a combined market opportunity of over $5 billion in Australia alone1. In 2017, a report by the American National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found there is strong and conclusive evidence for medical cannabis as an effective medication in treating chronic pain in adults, chemotherapy-induced nausea and multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms. This conclusive clinical data supports medicinal cannabis as a viable treatment and has provided strong validation for the industry globally. Prior to the quarter, AusCann, in partnership with its joint venture partner Fundacion Daya in Chile, planted its first crop at a 30-hectare facility south of Santiago, Chile. The crop was harvested in April and with the 400 plants yielding over 300kgs of dried cannabis to be processed for clinical trials and sale to third parties.