Aurora Cannabis Inc (TSE:ACB) (OTCQB:ACBFF) (FRA:21P) has made another medical-based cannabis investment—this time on delivery systems. This continues a patently obvious plan to dominate the medical cannabis space as the liberalization of medical cannabis use worldwide continues apace.

Aurora’s newest expenditure in an interesting, yet strategic fit. The company announced it had acquired an initial 9.14% ownership interest in CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc., a small Canadian outfit whose principal asset is a patented drug delivery technology, an orally administered, fast dissolving thin film. For those familiar with Listerine’s oral care strips, the concept is similar.

Ultimately, the goal here is to develop the fastest, more efficient and bio-available method to deliver cannabidiol—the main non-psychoactive and analgesic component of cannabis.

Sublingual administration also has certain advantages vis-à-vis swallowing pills.

For one, medication dissolves more quickly than any other method of administration—within seconds. Because the cheeks and areas under the tongue have many capillaries, drugs can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream without going through the digestive system. Such a direct bypass precludes drug metabolism through your liver. The end result is less medication needs to be used to achieve similar bio-active results.

CTT’s delivery method also caters to a subset of consumers who have trouble swallowing or inhaling smoke/vapor (asthmatics, for example). These consumers may simply dissolve the film on or beneath the tongue area to obtain the desired results.

Aurora Cannabis is financing the deal via non-brokered private placement in the form of a $1 million USD 5% convertible debenture, with the option to increase ownership to 42.5% through the issuance of warrants. As a low-float OTC/Pink Sheet issue, Aurora can gain significant control of the technology without much in the way of dilution concerns.

Overall, this is another example of the liberal use of share capital to build upon their growing medical cannabis portfolio. Whether it comes by way of small investment or multi-billion dollar takeover, Aurora Cannabis is deliberately driving to become the preeminent player in the medical cannabis space. With this investment, the company now gains access to a superior delivery system—one which may ultimately incur cost savings as less CBD concentrate per unit are needed in each dose.

Time will tell whether that benefit is actualized.

Aurora Cannabis is currently trading higher by $0.41 to $8.31/share (↑5.18%); in-line with the broad industry rally enveloping the market in recent days. Normally lightly-traded CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings has soared on the news, trading up $0.425 to $0.715/share (↑146.55%).