OCTP.L Regulatory News (OCTP)

17 November 2021

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc

New agreement signed with Oxford Stemtech Ltd ("Stemtech")

· Stemtech to provide state-of-the-art early-stage R&D data support across all four of OCTP's drug development programmes, especially Programmes 3 and 4 targeting pain, neurology, and inflammation

· Innovative "pain-in-a-dish" model replicates human pain in vitro

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc ("OCTP" or the "Company"), the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Ltd ("OCT", together, the "Group"), a company developing licensed prescription cannabinoid medicines for approval by regulatory agencies worldwide and targeting the U$ multi-billion pain market, is pleased to announce that OCT has signed a new drug development agreement with Stemtech.

Stemtech is a contract research organisation based in Oxford and led by Dr Zameel Cader, which generates re-programmed human stem cells for research and drug discovery. Under the agreement Stemtech will provide OCT with cutting edge support for its drug development programmes, starting with Programmes 3 and 4 which are targeting pain, neurology and inflammation. OCT believes Stemtech's technology provides an in vitro translational model that will better predict results in humans. Simply put, Stemtech's model helps predict which of OCT's compounds (including the library recently licensed from Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy"), announced on 22 September 2021) have the potential to treat pain in patients suffering from disorders poorly treated by current medicines.

Stemtech has developed an innovative "pain-in-a-dish" model which replicates human pain and which supports both compound screening and mechanistic studies. By using Stemtech's cutting-edge multi-electrode array technology (MEA), OCT can measure whether compounds in its library can reduce the "fire" rate of the neuron in real time and, thus, identify potential drugs to treat pain. Stemtech will also screen OCT's drug library (including the library recently licensed from Canopy) for compounds that can 'switch off' inflammation at the cellular level.

Together these studies will assist OCT in identifying compounds with the potential of treating pain and neurological disorders involving neuro-inflammation and/or neurodegeneration.

OCTP Chief Executive, Dr John Lucas, said of the Oxford Stemtech partnership: "This exciting technology is delivered by a trusted partner. It is a natural evolution from the research collaboration agreement between OCT and Oxford University and is testament to the scientific excellence of its pain research project, led by Professor Zameel Cader."

Dr Zameel Cader, Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford and Director and Co-Founder of StemTech, said "We are very glad to be working with OCT to support the development of multiple programmes. StemTech has developed a new method that reduces the cost and increases the scale of reprogramming pluripotent stem cells from healthy volunteers and patients. This innovative approach allows us to develop in vitro human disease models for translational research. We are delighted that OCT has chosen StemTech as their partner of choice in their efforts to become the global leader in developing cannabinoid-based prescription medicines in pain and neurological disorders."

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About Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc:

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc ("OCTP") is the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Ltd ("OCT"), a pharmaceutical company developing prescription cannabinoid medicines for approval by key medicines regulatory agencies worldwide and targeting the U$ multi-billion pain market (together the "Group"). Cannabinoids are compounds found in the cannabis plant that have been shown to have a range of therapeutic effects on the body, including pain relief. The Group has a clearly defined path to commercialisation, revenues and growth.

The Group is developing drug candidates through clinical trials to gain regulatory approval (FDA/MHRA/EMA) that will enable medical professionals to prescribe them with confidence.

The Group's portfolio aims to balance risk, value and time to market, whilst ensuring market exclusivity around all its key activities. The Group's lead compound, OCT461201, is a highly potent and selective CB2 agonist and is being developed by OCT in a solid oral dosage form. OCT is conducting pre-clinical testing and development with pre-clinical trials scheduled for 2022. The Group's product pipeline also uses a balanced drug product strategy that employs phytocannabinoids, cannabinoid derivatives and other novel compounds for the treatment of pain.

OCTP operates a partnership model with external academic and commercial partners, including the University of Oxford.

Caution regarding forward looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''potentially'', "expect", ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.