This week we’re looking at a patent filed by an odd company. Creso Pharma is a cannabis company whose core operations are in Switzerland, Canada and Australia. They’re a publicly traded company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. They own a cultivation facility in Nova Scotia, acquired through purchase of Mernova.

Creso has filed a patent through the Wold Intellectual Property Organization under WO2019030561A1 but have yet to go through the process of granting the patent in each country/region. The filed patent is titled “Composition containing cannabinoids with improved bioavailability”.

Starting with the abstract:

A food or nutritional or dietary composition or food or nutritional or dietary supplement suited for buccal delivery of cannabinoids comprises a source of cannabinoids combination with a vasodilator agent selected from essentials oils or components of same, flavors or components of same and spices or components of same. Preferred source of cannabinoids is standardized oil or extract of hemp (Cannabis sativa L).

The patent doesn’t cover the medical application of cannabinoids, strictly the nutraceutical and food additive applications of cannabinoids extracted from low-THC varieties (hemp). The extract outlined in the patent from hemp must contain at least 25% CBD by weight. Delivery of the cannabinoid solution is specific to absorption through the inside of the cheek (buccal delivery).

The active ingredients in formulated solution consists of the >25 CBD hemp extract and an essential oil acting as a vasodilating agent to improve transport from inside the cheek to the blood stream. The essential oils covered are limited to capsicum oil, clove oil mustard oil and fenugreek oil. The formulation also covers a limited selection of isolated flavoring agents including sinigrin, capsaicin, piperine and the spices black pepper, chili pepper, ginger, ginseng, mustard, horse radish, curcuma, cardamom and cumin.

The ratio of the essential oils to CBD oil in the formulation is similar to GW’s Sativex patent. GW uses 0.0005 ml/ml of peppermint oil in their formulation, which is 1:2000 volume/volume ratio. An example of Creso’s formulation contains 1:10000 capsicum extract by weight/weight ratio. The patent uses the ratio of active vasodilator to CBD, which in example formulation #1 is 1:2253 pure capsicum:CBD. The patent covers this ratio in the formulation between 1:500-1:5000. The uses of this formulation are limited to making chewing gum, films, granules, gums, lozenges, candies, pastes and tablets.

From my perspective this patent covers the moderately broad use of a cannabinoid oil formulation similar to those we’ve seen before. The formulation covers a broad range of common flavoring agents and essential oils but is limited in application. Since the patent only covers nutraceuticals and food additives, the patent is worthless in regions that don’t allow the use of CBD outside of medical applications.

The author does not hold a position in ASX:CPH