Staff
InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IMLFF) announced on Wednesday, Oct. 24th that it has positive pre-clinical data results from a study co-sponsored by InMed (Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer) and the University of British Columbia(laboratories of Profs. Ujendra Kumar and Vikramaditya Yadav).
The press release said, “The InMed-UBC study is the first ever to report hydrogel-mediated cannabinoid nanoparticle delivery to the eye, resulting in enhanced drug uptake via the cornea and lens.” This study is unique in that it is approaching the idea of ultimately using eye drops with a cannabidiol substance to treat glaucoma. The company said, “In this study, InMed’s proprietary hydrogel delivery method offers rheological characteristics permitting it to form a thin, uniform coating, a gel-like ‘lens’, over the cornea through blinking of the eyelid. This ‘lens’ holds the drug in place and allows for trans-corneal absorption of the drug, which can then diffuse within the eye to the retina. Total drug delivered using this hydrogel nanoparticle formulation was three-times higher than the control formulation.”
Without having access to the actual study, it’s hard to know if the claim is true. The study also doesn’t seem to state whether the cannabidiol drops are effective, just that the drug delivery is increased through this formula. Typical drug delivery through this method is 5% and the company said that in this study that increased three times.
On a positive note, these are preclinical results on INM 085 and are intended for Glaucoma treatment. This is the first study to report that a Biosynthesized Cannabinoid was manufactured, formulated specifically for a specific organ and targeted for delivery (nanoparticle hydrogel for drug delivery into the eye), that successfully resulted in direct drug uptake by the cornea and lens.
“This study offers the first tangible proof of our ability to successfully identify specific drug targets using our bioinformatic assessment tools, manufacture a cannabinoid using our proprietary biosynthesis process, load the drug into a patented, target specific formulation and deliver effective dose levels to a target tissue”, said Eric A. Adams, President & CEO InMed. “Studies like this, combined with our expanding patent portfolio, on-going research and renowned scientific team only validate further InMed’s capacity to be a full-scale cannabinoid drug development industry leader.”
The company sponsored research study was said to have been recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Controlled Release (JCR), entitled “A stimulus-responsive, in situ forming, the nanoparticle-laden hydrogel for ocular drug delivery”.
I think the main point here is not to get too excited that this means cannabis eye drops work and will help alleviate diseases like glaucoma. However, it is important to recognize that a novel approach could end up turning into something worthwhile if it gets beyond the preclinical stage.
