What happened to Auscann Group?

AusCann Group Holdings, once a well-funded pioneer of Australia's medicinal cannabis industry, was removed from the ASX in August 2024 after failing to pay its listing fees. The company has since agreed to sell its remaining assets to Argent BioPharma for $15 million USD.

It's a stark fall for a company that held $26 million in the bank just five years earlier.

The early promise

AusCann listed on the ASX in 2016 as one of Australia's first medicinal cannabis pharmaceutical companies. Based in Perth, the company focused on developing standardised cannabinoid medicines rather than simply growing and selling cannabis flower.

By late 2019, things looked promising. The company had completed development of its proprietary Neuvis hard-shell capsules, a drug delivery system designed to improve cannabinoid absorption by three to five times compared to traditional oils. It had built a state-of-the-art R&D facility in Perth. And it had Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth as a major investor.

"There is a lack of quality clinical evidence for medicinal cannabis pharmaceuticals in the industry and that is why we are generating the evidence to demonstrate the uniqueness and consistency of our capsules," then-CEO Ido Kanyon said at the time.

The company planned to have its capsules commercially available for prescription in Australia by mid-2020.

The cash burn

But commercial success never arrived.

In late 2019, Canopy Growth sold its 13.2% stake in AusCann to Merchant Funds Management. The company continued burning through its cash reserves on R&D, manufacturing costs, and corporate overheads without generating meaningful revenue.

AusCann also acquired a 48% stake in CannPal Animal Therapeutics, a Sydney-based company developing cannabis treatments for pets. CannPal held promising pre-clinical data but required ongoing investment.

By June 2024, AusCann's cash reserves had dropped to just $2.5 million. The company had divested 58% of its CannPal stake to reduce costs and was pursuing a merger with ECC Pharm, a European cannabis manufacturer it had been funding through secured loans.

Delisted

On 22 August 2024, AusCann's shares were already suspended from trading. The ASX warned that companies failing to pay their annual listing fees by 28 August would be removed from the official list.

AusCann didn't pay.

On 29 August 2024, the ASX removed AusCann Group Holdings from its official list under Listing Rule 17.15. The company that once held $26 million couldn't afford its annual listing fees.

Selling what's left

Despite the delisting, AusCann still held valuable intellectual property and strategic investments.

In August 2025, the company signed a binding term sheet to sell its core assets to Argent BioPharma (ASX:RGT), a cannabis pharmaceutical company pursuing a US stock exchange listing. The deal is valued at $15 million USD, paid in 25 million RGT shares at 60 cents each.

The sale includes:

• The Neuvis drug delivery platform and all related intellectual property

• AusCann's remaining 48% stake in CannPal Animal Therapeutics

• A 19.99% shareholding in ECC Pharm, which operates EU-GMP cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facilities in North Macedonia

"This transaction represents a strong outcome for AusCann shareholders," said Executive Director Andrew Chapman, who will join Argent BioPharma's board following the deal. "By contributing our Neuvis platform, FDA-ready data, EU-GMP manufacturing capabilities, and German distribution network into Argent BioPharma, we secure meaningful exposure to a high-growth, IP-driven pharmaceutical company with global reach."

The deal is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to complete in Q3 2025. If Argent fails to list on a US exchange within eight months of completion, the transaction will be unwound and all assets returned.

What went wrong?

AusCann's story mirrors that of many early Australian cannabis companies: high hopes, heavy investment in R&D, and not enough focus on generating revenue.

The company developed genuinely innovative technology. Its Neuvis platform offered improved bioavailability for cannabinoid medicines, with patents extending to 2038. Its CannPal subsidiary held FDA-relevant pre-clinical data. Its investments in European manufacturing gave it access to the growing German medical cannabis market.

But innovation costs money. And without commercial products generating revenue, AusCann's runway eventually ran out.

The company now exists as a shell, its assets destined for another company's balance sheet. For shareholders who backed AusCann at its peak, the $15 million USD asset sale represents a fraction of what the company once spent on development.

Whether Argent BioPharma can succeed where AusCann failed remains to be seen. The assets are the same. The question is whether new management and a different strategy can finally turn them into commercial success.