Pascal Biosciences Commences Cannabinoid Testing of Human Volunteers and Patients
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, and SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, January 24, 2019 – Pascal Biosciences Inc. (TSX.V:PAS) (“Pascal” or the “Company”), a drug discovery and development company, today announced the testing of cannabinoids in human subjects for their immune stimulatory program in cancer. Furthermore, the company has filed an international patent application to protect this work for future therapeutic indications.
Since discovering cannabinoids that can stimulate the immune system, Pascal has extensively studied many different cannabinoids in a variety of immune stimulatory assays. More than 375 cannabinoids from numerous sources have been examined, including natural cannabinoids from Cannabis (known as phytocannabinoids), synthetic cannabinoids prepared by chemists, and endocannabinoids naturally found in the human body. Specific natural cannabinoids have been identified that have potent activity in immune assays and also have a good safety profile.
“Our laboratory experiments have been very encouraging and suggest a potential to enhance the activity of cancer drugs. Cannabinoids stimulate the immune system and should work in concert with currently approved therapeutics”, said Dr. Patrick Gray, CEO of Pascal. “Human subject testing of cannabinoids has already been initiated. We plan to test both healthy volunteers and patients with cancer. Our first volunteer and our first patient with cancer have been treated to examine safety and pharmacology. We will extend these studies during the coming year with a potent cannabinoid for determination of its immune stimulatory activity. We will be testing cancer patients undergoing treatment with checkpoint inhibitors. We believe this work will be of great interest to patients, oncologists, and companies focused on cannabinoid therapeutics.”
In order to protect future efforts, Pascal has filed a patent on these discoveries. This intellectual property protection secures Pascal’s striking discovery that certain cannabinoids increase the immunogenicity of cancer cells. Advanced cancers prevail in part because they become invisible to the immune system. Restoring immunodetection of these cancers promises to arrest or eliminate the tumors, especially when combined with agents that depend upon immune recognition, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Pascal’s patent application is covered by the Patent Cooperation Treaty that includes 151 countries and covers all major pharmaceutical markets worldwide. “This international patent application provides protection of our groundbreaking discoveries and is a testament to the novel scientific research of Pascal. This work may offer a transformative approach to improving immunotherapy,” said Dr. Patrick Gray, CEO of Pascal. “We look forward to further advancing our promising cannabinoid research efforts in both the laboratory and the clinic in 2019.”
