Cannasat Therapeutics announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for a US Patent Application which forms the basis for Cannasat's lead product, Relivar. Cannasat is the exclusive licensee of the patent application. It is expected that in a few months the corresponding US Patent will issue. Patents have already been obtained on this technology in Europe.
The newly allowed patent application relates to Cannasat's proprietary technology which provides for the effective drug absorption of dronabinol in the buccal cavity via a tablet. The claims broadly encompass the active complex, a pharmaceutical composition containing the same, and a method of treating patients for a variety of indications where dronabinol is known to be efficacious, including pain and nausea. Relivar will be the first commercial project developed based on this patent application. This patent application, along with formulation partner IntelGenx's proprietary tablet system, Adversa, is expected to form the basis for a strong intellectual property protection platform for Relivar.
On April 14, 2009, Cannasat reported positive results from a phase-1 pharmacokinetic study. Relivar delivered twice the amount of dronabinol into the bloodstream versus the reference drug (as measured by AUC). The randomized, single dose, double crossover study compared Cannasat's Relivar to the reference oral dosage form of dronabinol at 2.5 mg in healthy volunteers. Relivar was well-tolerated with no adverse events noted in this study. Relivar met its primary goal of delivering a greater dose of the drug through the buccal mucosa versus the reference compound, which is swallowed and has an intestinal absorption mechanism. Relivar also showed nearly a 50 per cent reduction in the ratio of 11-OH-THC to the parent drug versus oral dronabinol in the same subjects. Literature suggests that the 11-OH-THC metabolite, which is also a marker of absorption in the gut, is responsible for the pronounced central nervous system adverse events of the reference drug. Relivar also showed an extended absorption profile which may be advantageous for more convenient dosing.
David Hill, Cannasat's chief executive officer and founder, commented, "We are pleased that the USPTO has allowed this pivotal patent application that offers strong IP protection to our Relivar programme. The broad claims are designed to protect this unique composition of matter that allows us to develop Relivar as an innovative and new pharmaceutical product. We believe the intellectual property protection established by this patent will protect Relivar from direct competition and significantly enhance our ability to form strong development collaborations with potential partners."
Cannasat is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing products to treat neurological disorders such as neuropathic pain and schizophrenia.