New Zealand pet cannabis start-up closes seed round

Local venture capital firm WNT Ventures led the NZ$2 million ($1.2M/€1.1M) funding round, which also includes a convertible note. 

The capital will be used to complete the remainder of its CMC (chemistry, control and manufacturing) package, which is the work needed on the formulation to prepare it for submission to regulatory authorities for registration as a veterinary medicine. 

Hale Animal Health CEO Leila de Koster tells GlobalPETS that the capital injection will be used to complete the company’s 3 pivotal clinical trials that will generate data for the registration.

“Our first product is well into development and will be registered in some key markets whilst building towards a registration with the FDA and launch into the US,” says de Koster.

Product performance 

The start-up also recently completed a proof-of-concept trial, with the results demonstrating that its cannabis-derived products perform “just as well” as one of the leading NSAIDs to treat pain in dogs suffering from osteoarthritis.

“The company saw a 93% success rate with the treatment group, which is almost unheard of,” de Koster added, “Most registered products see around 50% to 60% success rate in their trials.”

Hale Animal Health, which also filed for a patent in March 2024, has raised NZ$3.5 million ($2.1M/€1.9M) so far, and it is currently looking to accumulate further funding. 

“We are always interested to hear from and talk to strategic investors so encourage anyone interested to get in touch as we may be able to make room for them in this round,” the CEO notes.

Founded in 2020, Hale Animal Health is developing novel therapeutics for companion animals with a focus on cannabis-derived registered veterinary medicines.