Splash Beverage Group Takes Global License on CannEpil, Targeting Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

FORT LAUDERDALE – Splash Beverage Group Inc. announced it has secured an exclusive worldwide license to CannEpil®, a cannabinoid-based investigational treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), through an agreement with Argent BioPharma Limited, the Australian-listed clinical-stage company behind the therapy.

DRE affects approximately 30% of epilepsy patients worldwide and remains one of the most significant unmet needs in neurology, with millions of patients continuing to experience uncontrolled seizures despite currently available therapies. CannEpil® is formulated as a high-CBD, low-THC oral mucosal solution engineered to reduce seizure frequency and severity while minimizing psychoactive effects.

The EU-GMP certified product already has active patient access in several regulated markets.
In Ireland, it became eligible under the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme and is supported through reimbursement mechanisms administered by the country’s Health Service Executive.

In the United Kingdom, it received authorization for importation and prescription through the Named Patient Request framework, with patients reaching it through specialist treatment pathways under the Refractory Epilepsy Specialist Clinical Advisory Service – the first access achieved in collaboration with the I AM Billy Foundation.

Access is also established in Germany and Australia, where an independent study confirmed that CannEpil® does not impair driving performance – a clinically meaningful finding for long-term patient adherence. On the U.S. regulatory front, the program has completed pre-Investigational New Drug engagement with the FDA and received an official IND number, establishing the initial procedural footing for future clinical trials.

The agreement grants Splash exclusive worldwide rights for at least 20 years, including sublicensing and rights to next-generation products. Consideration was assembled without a cash outlay at close. Mercer Street Global Opportunity Fund agreed to forgive approximately $5 million of Argent BioPharma indebtedness, and Splash issued $5.5 million in newly created preferred equity as part of the consideration for the license. Separately, C/M Capital Partners committed a $1 million strategic investment to support regulatory advancement, clinical development planning, and commercialization initiatives. Argent BioPharma retains a 15% royalty on worldwide net revenues.

Splash has outlined plans to direct the incoming capital toward FDA-related activities, expanding the existing real-world evidence package, engaging U.S. epilepsy specialists, and identifying a pharmaceutical development partner capable of supporting domestic clinical trials.

The CannEpil® deal is the latest step in a deliberate repositioning by Splash away from its beverage roots. In June 2026, the company completed a CDN$300,000 investment in Avicanna Inc., a commercial-stage cannabinoid biopharmaceutical company with an approved cannabidiol treatment for severe epilepsy, a leading Canadian medical Cannabis care platform, and a vertically integrated pharmaceutical manufacturing operation in Colombia. Brady Cobb, appointed Interim CEO in May 2026, has consistently framed the company’s direction around pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid medicine rather than general consumer wellness.

Ultimately, the CannEpil® transaction is worth tracking not as a pharmaceutical bet alone, but as a capital structure chronology. The deal required no cash at close, assembled entirely through debt forgiveness and equity issuance, which signals the current cost of entry into cannabinoid therapeutics for a company operating at Splash’s scale. The durability of the FDA pathway and the reach of that one-million-dollar runway will define what this platform actually becomes.