CORAL SPRINGS, Florida /PRNewswire/ — Medical Cannabis’ biggest strength continues to be science as research and development drives sector forward with more consumers opting for marijuana over traditional treatment methods. Investors continue to pour millions of dollars into the newest studies and development of Medical Marijuana Applications as more states push towards legalization.
Veritas Pharma Inc. is pleased to announce a corporate update. Within the first two quarters of 2016, Veritas Pharma has managed to reach significant milestones in achieving its goals. These milestones include formation of a uniquely qualified Board of Directors, completion of Private Placement, as well as initiating the research process and progressing towards identifying potentially new therapeutic strains of cannabis.
On April 19th, 2016, Veritas Pharma’s Board of Directors was strengthened by the appointment of Dr. Donald R. Carlow. He was the former president and CEO of the British Columbia Cancer Agency as well as principal administrator of various other cancer organizations in Canada. Dr. Carlow provides substantial experience and could deliver clinical insight into development of Veritas’ new strains for treatment of cancer pain and chemotherapy induced emesis. His appointment was an addition to an already versatile Board with significant experience in finance, pharmacology and agriculture.
Veritas Pharma, through two tranches of non-brokered private placement, accumulated aggregate gross proceeds of $1,116,000. The Company is investing these funds in Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd., a Vancouver, BC company made up of academics at The University of British Columbia. Their goal is to discover new cannabis strains for specific disease conditions. Cannevert is also attempting to match much of this money with the help of academic-industry grants, as well as scientific tax credits.
On May 3rd Veritas announced that Cannevert Therapeutics received a Health Canada exemption to legally purchase cannabis from a designated supplier for research purposes. This was a significant event for Cannevert in that it could now fully conduct chemical and pharmacological screening assays to determine the therapeutic potential of a variety of cannabis cultivars. Concurrent with R&D efforts, Veritas Pharma in conjunction with Cannevert Therapeutics are attempting to protect potential candidate strains through the filing of patent applications and acquiring plant breeder’s rights.
Veritas CEO Lui Franciosi commented, “We are extremely excited now to see that, with Health Canada exemption and arrival of initial group of cannabis strains, our work has begun. We believe Veritas’ progress is well within our initial set timeline.”
In other pharma developments and happenings: Insys Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Insys’ dronabinol oral solution, Syndros, an orally administered liquid formulation of the pharmaceutical cannabinoid dronabinol, a pharmaceutical version of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”). Syndros is approved for use in treating anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS, and nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments. Syndros is currently awaiting scheduling by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
GW Pharmaceuticals plc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform, announced positive results of the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial of its investigational medicine Epidiolex (cannabidiol or CBD) for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a rare and severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy. In this trial, Epidiolex, when added as an adjunct to the patient’s current treatment, achieved the primary endpoint of a significant reduction in the monthly frequency of drop seizures assessed over the entire 14-week treatment period compared with placebo (p=0.0135). This trial follows the announcement in March 2016 of positive results in a pivotal Phase 3 trial of Epidiolex for the treatment of Dravet syndrome. Epidiolex has Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of LGS and Dravet syndrome.
In recent FDA events of importance: Pfizer Inc. recently announced that Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) received FDA approval for an expanded age indication to include adults 18 through 49 years of age, in addition to the already approved indication for adults 50 years and older, for active immunization for the prevention of pneumonia and invasive disease caused by 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) serotypes (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F). Prevnar 13 is the only pneumococcal vaccine approved across the lifespan.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
