Our scientific understanding of the efficacy of active cannabinoids from the cannabis plant, like THC, the primary psychoactive component, and CBD, a non-psychoactive component, has been systematically hampered by legislation for decades. As a growing body of medical and now even clinical data on the pharmacology of cannabinoids and the human body’s endocannabinoid system emerges however, in the U.S. alone, laws restricting marijuana, especially medical marijuana (MMJ), have been falling left and right. Minnesota and New York have recently both approved some form of MMJ legislation and MMJ is now legal in 23 states, as well as D.C., opening up a massive market opportunity, with companies like GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) already seeing considerable upside from their growing pipeline of cannabinoid indications, like their Multiple Sclerosis spasticity and neuropathic pain drug Sativex®.
One of the major areas of cannabinoid research today is in treating neurological disorders and their effects, with a recent high-water mark being seen in the FDA approval of a CBD study in childhood epilepsy at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of New York University. This clinical trial of CBD in epilepsy would put highly quantified data down to extend the growing acceptance of MMJ, expanding data points like the successful use of the CBD-rich and essentially non-psychoactive Charlotte’s Web strain of cannabis to treat Dravet Syndrome (a form of severe and intractable epilepsy) in the Charlotte Figi case. The dramatic reduction of crippling seizures seen in the case of this one eight-year-old girl, whose story was made famous by chief of neurosurgery at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is one of the watershed moments in the MMJ industry and seemed to many in the medical community to validate earlier studies done by Stanford University showing an 84% seizure frequency reduction rate in children treated with a variety of (artisanal) CBD.
The growing understanding of the endocannabinoid system, as well as the crucial effects the CB1 and CB2 receptors play in regulating multiple neurological and physiological processes within the body, has led to growing acceptance in the medical community of MMJ and sparked a firestorm of pharmacological development work in CBD by numerous companies. The palliative care market in cancer alone for instance is huge, with tolerability of even chronic MMJ usage a leading factor among pain relief vectors helping to establish overall acceptance. Established opioid developers like (NASDAQ: CARA) are even getting into the game, developing products like their CR701 compound for neuropathic bodily pain as an alternative to comparably dangerous opioids, which may not even work for some patients who have opioid resistant pain.
One of the smaller hot properties in the burgeoning MMJ field today, and one which already has a functional orally-administered cannabinoid product, Cannabics Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB: CNBX), is a superb way for investors to get in on the action. CNBX’s flagship indication, Cannabics SR, is ideally suited to states in the U.S. like Minnesota, where only non-smokable MMJ preparations are currently permitted. Cannabics SR is a proprietary preparation of pure cannabinoids in capsule form designed for cancer patients as palliative care, yet its ingredients have immediate and broader applications as well, applications that are becoming increasingly apparent to healthcare professionals throughout the industry. Cannabics SR has been shown in observational studies to provide a solid 10 to 12 hours of steady-state therapeutic effects, making it an ideal indication for a safe and convenient once-daily dosing regimen.
Cannabics Pharmaceuticals has specifically developed Cannabics SR to deliver an effective one-two punch, using a dual delivery of oil-based compounds in order to provide both quick onset of therapeutic effects within the first 20 to 60 minutes, as well as long-lasting relief via a more concentrated cannabinoid portion within the capsule. This proprietary, sustained release formulation is prepared in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified facilities and the company has received certification from the Israeli Ministry of Health for an advanced R&D laboratory dedicated to cannabinoid science as well, a lab which they intend to utilize in pursing the cannabinoid-based anti-cancer therapy end of the spectrum further. The company has recently engaged with Mountain High Products LLC, Owner of the “WANA edibles” brand, for the commercialization of its products in the booming Colorado MMJ market. The company has also recently secured an IP licensing and collaboration agreement for the production and distribution of Cannabics SR in Spain with established regional entity Kalapa Holding, which has made a name for itself advancing a tailored medical cannabis therapy approach to the market, emphasizing direct connections between patients and doctors. Cannabics Pharmaceuticals is at the forefront of commercializing clinically tested cannabis-based products and is currently on-track to launch a series of clinical studies in leading medical centers across Israel, where the company’s R&D division is strategically located
With the domestic MMJ market estimated at around $2B annually by IBISWorld, on a CAGR of around 16.2%, CNBX’s move to tackle not just the U.S. market, but the EU and elsewhere, should make investor’s ears perk up. GlobalData pegs the neuropathic pain market alone at around just under $3B, with a projected CAGR of 3.19% through 2022, when they estimate the market will have grown to approximately $3.5B. Needless to say, there is a massive, target-rich environment for CNBX’s advanced cannabinoid medicines both at home and abroad, and as their pipeline develops further amid prevailing legislative acceptance of MMJ, shareholders stand poised to reap the rewards, while also helping patients in dire need.
To learn more about Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, visit: www.cannabics.com
Let us hear your thoughts: Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Message Board
