VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 2, 2017 / InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("InMed") (CNSX: IN; OTCQB: IMLFF), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of novel, cannabinoid-based drug therapies, today announced the filing of an international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application, an important component in providing intellectual and commercial protection for INM-750 as a cannabinoid-based topical therapy for Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS).
Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a group of inherited connective tissue diseases that share a common manifestation of extremely fragile skin that blisters or tears from friction or trauma. Internal organs and bodily systems can also be affected by EB. It results from a defect of anchoring between the dermis and epidermis caused most frequently by the dysfunction or absence of certain proteins, called keratins, in the skin. EB is an orphan disease with no known treatment and has a significant unmet medical need. INM-750 will be the first therapy developed for EB designed specifically to modulate disease activity and to alleviate symptoms.
It is well documented that cannabinoid compounds have unique anti-inflammatory, analgesic and wound healing promoting properties via several mechanisms, thus making them theoretically excellent candidates for use in alleviating some of the symptoms associated with EB. InMed's proprietary Bioinformatics Database Assessment Tool predicted a dual approach that may prove beneficial to patients: first, the ability of certain cannabinoids to play a role in addressing key disease hallmarks (wound healing, infection, pain, itch, inflammation) in all patients with EB; and second, the ability of some cannabinoids to regulate the expression of various keratins that might compensate for the dysfunctional keratins that cause Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex (EBS). EBS accounts for the vast majority of EB patients. InMed conducted several in vitro and in vivo assays and the results of these studies form the basis of this PCT application.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, which provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its member states. There are 151 member countries within the PCT worldwide, so near global patent coverage can be obtained through successful patent prosecution in the U.S., Japan, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Brazil, Russia, India, and many other countries. The original priority date for this filing was May 26, 2015, therefore coverage of any underlying patent claims would extend for 20 years until 2035 in the United States, and may be subject to patent term extensions that would enable years of additional protection.
"This is a significant milestone achieved by our scientific team's discovery and validation of a new cannabinoid therapy to treat a serious disease with high unmet medical need. We are looking forward to fully understanding the potential impact of INM-750 in helping the EB community," said Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer of InMed Pharmaceuticals. "The pre-clinical data emerging on the use of cannabinoids for EB, as well as other disease targets in our drug development portfolio, continue to validate our discovery approach using our bioinformatics assessment tool. These drug/disease targeting predictions are then followed by relatively quick, inexpensive, yet highly informative confirmatory laboratory studies to validate the predictions of the database. This approach is proving to be an important means to shorten drug development timelines as well as significantly reduce development costs."
About InMed
InMed is a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that specializes in developing novel therapies through the research and development into the extensive pharmacology of cannabinoids coupled with innovative drug delivery systems. InMed's proprietary bioinformatics database drug/disease targeting tool, cannabinoid biosynthesis technology and drug development pipeline are the fundamental value drivers of the Company. For more information, visit www.inmedpharma.com
Contact: InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Chris Bogart
SVP, Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy
T: 604.669.7207
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This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on management's current expectations and beliefs and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements about the potential of cannabinoid compounds to modulate disease activity and to alleviate symptoms in EB and other diseases, the potential for this patent application to provide any intellectual property protection for InMed and the expected fundamental value drivers of the company. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Known risk factors include, among others: InMed may not use net proceeds received from the private placement as currently contemplated and InMed's proprietary platform technology, product pipeline and accelerated development pathway may not return their expected level of value.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing InMed is disclosed in InMed's continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and InMed disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
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SOURCE: InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.