Argent Biopharma’s (RGT) flagship CannEpil cannabis drug is set to pivot into the veterinary market, just weeks after it signed away the commercial rights in exchange for debt relief.
Last month, MEDCAN24 reported that Argent (previously MGC Pharmaceuticals), had signed a US$5.5m debt-for-equity licensing deal with Splash Beverage Group, handing it the responsibility for development and regulatory approval of CannEpil in new markets, with a focus on the United States.
That original agreement, dated July 6, 2026, covered CannEpil’s human epilepsy programme, before Splash inserted an amendment on July 27 adding veterinary rights to the deal.
Days later (August 05), Splash announced a new development and collaboration agreement with Lupvindol Biosciences to advance its licensed cannabinoid drug CannEpil through the US Food and Drug Administration’s veterinary pathway.
CannEpil is a pharmaceutical-grade, EU-GMP-manufactured oral solution combining cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol isolates, already marketed in Ireland, the UK, Germany and Australia for drug-resistant epilepsy and holding an FDA Investigational New Drug number for human development.
The veterinary programme will initially target companion-animal oncology and chronic pain, with canine indications the primary focus. Splash cited third-party estimates putting the veterinary oncology market at between US$900m and US$1.7b, and the global veterinary pain-management market growing from US$2.6b in 2024 to US$3.8b by 2030.
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Under the agreement, Lupvindol will run the scientific programme and regulatory submissions, opening an Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) file with the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and building a development plan toward Conditional Approval under Section 571 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Splash will fund the milestones and lead commercialisation, retaining ownership of resulting data, intellectual property and licensing decisions. Lupvindol carries the annual FDA sponsor fees through Conditional Approval.
The beverage company will also fund any required pilot studies subject to an agreed cap, and pay Argent a 10% royalty on veterinary CannEpil net revenues, a lower rate than the 15% royalty on worldwide net sales Argent retains under the original human licence.
Lupvindol’s Chief Executive Officer, Hunter Land, was GW Pharmaceuticals’ first full-time US research and development employee and worked on the development of Epidiolex, the first FDA-approved plant-derived cannabinoid medicine, and Sativex.
“This collaboration converts our expanded CannEpil rights into a defined and capital-efficient FDA development programme,” said Brady Cobb, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Splash.
Cobb’s ‘capital-efficient’ strategy would mean Lupvindol’s fee absorption and the milestone structure shift much of the near-term cost of an FDA veterinary programme away from Splash’s own cash position.
However, the programme lands on a stretched balance sheet. Splash reported US$381,195 in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2026, against current liabilities of US$16.97m, and disclosed substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in its most recent quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares in Splash (NYSE American: SBEV) fell 3.43% to close at US$0.34 on the announcement, valuing the company at roughly US$2.16m.
No date has been disclosed for opening the INAD file, which starts the pathway’s regulatory clock.
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