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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Snake Repellent Attracts Investors

With upwards of $170,000 raised toward its second-round funding goal of $10 million, Canoga Park’s Med-X is gaining support to reach its eco-friendly goals. Med-X began with a pesticide brand called Nature-Cide, originally used for snake abatement. It has achieved broad usage at zoos, parks, hospitals, hotels, railroads and aircraft, as well as commercial kitchens and schoolyards. The product was first formulated to help Los Angeles County Fire Department discourage rattlesnakes from becoming a nuisance to Valley homeowners, especially in Calabasas. Although Nature-Cide remains the company’s flagship brand, it has expanded with Thermal-Aid, an over-the-counter heating and cooling pack for the body; a pediatric version of Thermal-Aid in the shape of teddy bears and plush animals; a therapeutic shower spray called Home Spa; and Malibu Brands, a topical cream to treat pain. L.A.-based StartEngine.com is the company’s platform for raising capital in a Regulation A+ equity issue; more than 2,400 investors have signed on to support the company, which was founded in 2014. Med-X raised more than $7 million in its first round of funding. After its second round, the company aspires to go public on Nasdaq within the next 12 to 18 months. “It’s to take the company to the next level with its brands – market the brands and acquire other like-minded companies,” said Matthew Mills, co-founder and chief operating officer for Med-X. The brand’s all-natural products are a blend of essential oils, according to the company website, and are risk-free to the environment. Nature-Cide’s low toxicity only repels larger animals such as rodents, snakes and some birds, but can kill insects on contact. The product is registered in California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada, among other states, with roughly 40 distribution centers in the country. Mills expects $700,000 in Nature-Cide sales alone for this year. “It’s pretty neat how Nature-Cide has this big, giant market it can attack. That’s what we’ve been doing, and garnering a name for ourselves,” added Mills. “Now we’re kind of being revered as minimum-risk pesticide specialists. We’re not just manufacturers, we have a service company. We service homes in Malibu and Calabasas and everyone on our team is an agricultural specialist as well as a landscape specialist for snake abatement. It’s gone to snake abatement, flea and tick yard sprays.” Cannabis-related products are on the radar for Med-X, but the company is not moving forward while the drug is outlawed by the federal government. Malibu Brands’ Pacific Pain Relief Cream was originally intended to be a CBD product, but company leaders decided the product was effective without the compound. “We’re kind of waiting in the wings,” said Mills. “Obviously, if we go to the Nasdaq, they don’t allow any federal laws to be broken. We’re very carefully navigating this and waiting for our turn, but in the background we’re developing a whole bunch of products that are not to get you high.” Med-X runs The Marijuana Times, a website that addresses business, legislative and medicinal questions about cannabis.

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