Research & Development Programme 4
Programme 4 is a cannabinoid derivative with an initial target as an immunotherapy agent in solid cancer tumours and we expect to be at lead candidate stage during 2023. Both programmes 3 and 4 have significantly advanced as a result of our worldwide exclusive licence from Canopy Growth Corpororation which includes 335 cannabinoid derivatives, and 14 patent families.
In general, existing cancer immunotherapies work by initially helping the human immune system to better attack and destroy the cancer, and then by preventing or considerably delaying cancer reappearance. The work we are doing in the laboratory shows that our cannabinoid derivative is based on a mechanism of action which removes the "brake" which the cancer sets on the patient's immunity, triggering the patient's own immune cells to attack the cancer again.
While current therapies based on antibodies or cell therapies ("biologics") are expensive and hard to access (usually requiring travel to cancer centres), our compound has the potential to provide an efficacious drug which can be taken at home as a tablet, potentially making it cheaper for both public and private healthcare providers and more convenient for patients.
Programme 4 will be advanced in partnership with Dalriada and Oxford StemTech.
