RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc (RSPI)

[gfp927z]

Hi Neuro, Just curious if you've been following any of the other cannabinoid neuro-related pharma stocks? GW Pharma of the UK looks like the largest, with approx $50 mil in annual revenues and a $1.5 Bil market cap, and licensing partners Bayer, Novartis, and Otsuka -



>>> GW Pharmaceuticals plc, (GWPRF) a biopharmaceutical company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in discovering, developing, and commercializing cannabinoid prescription medicines. The company operates through three segments: Sativex Commercial, Sativex Research and Development, and Pipeline Research and Development. The company primarily offers Sativex, an oromucosal spray for the treatment of MS symptoms, cancer pain, and neuropathic pain. It also focuses on the Phase III clinical development program of Sativex for use in the treatment of cancer pain. In addition, the company?s product pipeline includes an orphan childhood epilepsy program, as well as other product candidates in Phase I and II clinical development for the treatment of glioma, ulcerative colitis, type-2 diabetes, and schizophrenia. It has a strategic alliance with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Canada, and Asia. GW Pharmaceuticals plc was founded in 1998 and is based in Salisbury, the United Kingdom. <<<


Company website - http://www.gwpharm.com/


Their main product -


>>> Sativex

The way in which cannabinoids such as THC exert their effects on the human body is known as their “mechanism of action”. This has recently become clearer with the discovery of two cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 together with that of a chemical called “anandamide”. Anandamide is an endogenous ligand, which literally means that it occurs naturally within the body (endogenous) and is a binding agent or “ligand”. The full name of anandamide is arachidonoyl ethanolamide but it was nicknamed anandamide after the Sanskrit word for bliss “ananda”i. Anandamide has its effect by inhibiting cyclic AMP (part of the cellular energy gerneration process), through G-protein coupling in target cells, which cluster in areas of the central nervous system that mediate painii, memoryiii, and other key functions.


Preliminary tests of pharmacology and behavioural activity support the similarity of anandamide to THCiv. Both anandamide and THC bind weakly to the cannabinoid type one (CB1) receptors, which are found in the brain and are called partial agonistsv,vi.In contrast, cannabidiol (CBD) has little activity at CB1 but greater activity at the cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2) that are mostly located in the periphery, in lymphoid tissuesv. CB1 receptor distribution and THC binding affinity at CB1 differ between humans and rodents, which underscores the importance of conducting human clinical trialsvii. Both THC and CBD are neuroprotective antioxidants that have been shown to inhibit NMDA-mediated excitotoxicity under conditions of traumatic head injury, stroke and degenerative brain diseasesviii.


The discovery of the endocannabinoid systemviiihas provided new insights into a neuromodulatory scheme that may provide better explanations of, and treatments for, a wide variety of previously poorly treatable, often painful disordersvi,x.


It has recently been demonstrated that CBD also stimulates vanilloid pain receptors (VR1), inhibits uptake of the anandamide, and weakly inhibits its breakdownxi. These new findings have important implications in elucidating the pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and immunodulatory effects of CBD.


The combination of THC, CBD and essential oils in cannabis-based medicinal extracts may produce a therapeutic preparation whose benefits are greater than the sum of its partsxii.

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