Melbourne-based pharmaceutical and nutraceutical company Pharmachal Health Group is poised for a public listing in Canada following a reverse takeover of Kalon Acquisition Corp that will value the combined group at more than $25 million.

Pharmachal, which was founded in 2015 and led by Charles Fridlender, says the merger proposal comes at a critical time for the company as it prepares to launch its first products to the market in 2024. 

Described as a globally focused pharmaceutical, medical device and veterinary company, Pharmachal’s core focus is nano-drug delivery, especially in the field of pain management, where it has completed two successful clinical trials with anaesthetic products harnessing its Nano Drug Delivery System (NDDS) drug delivery technology.

Fridlender, who along with Alan Leeming have a controlling shareholding in the group, is founder of Pharmachal subsidiary NS Technologies which developed the company’s NDDS technology.

Under the terms of the merger, Pharmachal will utilise Kalon Acquisition Corp’s current listing on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange to secure a public listing. Kalon will change its name to Pharmachal Health Group on completion of the deal.

“The transaction coincides with an exciting time for the company and will facilitate raising sufficient capital to register and launch a range of products,” says Pharmachal.

Among Pharmachal’s key products is NOPAYNE, a patented, mini-emulsion, 3 per cent lidocaine spray that uses the company’s NDDS technology.

The company is also progressing a collaboration with Rambam Health Care Campus in Israel to develop a three-in-one coagulation, anaesthesia and accelerated healing product that combines its proprietary peptide into the NOPAYNE formula.

Pharmachal hopes to launch NOPAYNE to the market in the first half of 2024, pending Therapeutic Goods Administration registration.

The company says it has signed co-development agreements with pharmaceutical institutions in Israel and the US while establishing a network of international distributors as it prepares for its first product launch next year.

The Canadian listing for Pharmachal is effectively a reverse takeover of Kalon which is valued about C$2.2 million ($2.5 million). Pharmachal is valued at C$20 million ($23 million).

Kalon is a capital ‘pool company’ that is not involved in any commercial operations and has no assets other than cash.

Under the terms of the merger, Pharmachal’s existing shareholders will control 90 per cent of the merged entity with the remainder owned by Kalon’s existing shareholders.

The merger proposal will be accompanied by a C$2.5 million ($2.86 million) private placement.