DeHydr8 MI, a Birmingham-based team of cannabis industry professionals, has entered a licensing partnership agreement to use Toronto-based Hill Street Beverage Co.’s DehydraTECH technology to produce THC products in the state of Michigan.
“Michigan is the ideal market for this partnership, which dramatically accelerates our commercialization of the DehydraTECH technology,” says Craig Binkley, co-CEO of Hill Street. “Following our transactions with the Lexaria group of companies for global usage rights to DehydraTECH intellectual property for incorporation into adult use CBD and THC products, we have already recorded our first revenues from licensees operating in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Add Michigan, and we are present in some of the largest cannabis markets in the world.”
Michigan ranks among the top five states in the U.S. for cannabis sales. Currently in its 11th year of medical use and second year of recreational use, the market is on track to surpass $1.5 billion in annual cannabis sales in 2021.
DeHydr8 was founded by Todd Webber, an entrepreneur from Birmingham, and is comprised of top cannabis industry legal counsel and marketing and sales professionals. The team has existing partnerships with medical and adult use cannabis extractors and manufaturers.
“Working with Hill Street and their executive team to move the market and lead the industry with internationally recognized IP is an amazing opportunity,” says Webber. “Culture is a key ingredient to success and the culture we have created between these two executive teams, from the very first meeting, has been outstanding. We had a level of trust and respect right from the first conversation that has allowed us to achieve great strides in short order. We couldn’t be more excited to get started.”
Hill Street acquired usage right to the patented DehydraTECH technology from Lexaria Bioscience Corp. subsidiary CanPharm ULC. It is used to manufacture edibles, infused beverages, topicals, tinctures, sublingual products, and concentrates. It offers advantages to other technologies, including:
- Increased bioavailability up to 5-10x to equate to blood absorption by inhalational delivery.
- Increased brain permeation up to 19x as demonstrated in animal studies.
- Avoids first-pass liver metabolism, mitigating unwanted side effects.
- Reduced time of onset makes effects felt within 15-20 min vs. 60-120 min.
- Masks unwanted tastes, which eliminates the need for sugar-filled edibles.
“We’re delighted to see that our partnership with Hill Street is delivering the intended vision,” says Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. “As Lexaria aggressively drives ground-breaking scientific advancements and extensive R&D, Hill Street is rapidly advancing commercialization of the DehydraTECH platform. This new relationship with DeHydr8 provides direct benefits to all by driving scale, royalties and commercial gain.”
The initial term of the agreement is a period of two years, and the territory is limited to Michigan.
