Emerald Bioscience’s NB1111 Demonstrates Superiority in Lowering Intraocular Pressure Compared to Global Standard of Care Glaucoma Treatment in Preclinical Model
LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE – Emerald Bioscience, Inc. (EMBI), focused on the development of cannabinoid-based therapeutics to address global medical indications, especially those of unmet medical need, today announced data demonstrating the superiority of its advanced formulation of NB1111, the prodrug of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-valine-hemisuccinate; THCVHS) in lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye in a validated animal model. Increased IOP is a cause of glaucoma, and in this study NB1111 was compared to the current IOP-lowering standards-of-care for treating glaucoma: latanoprost, a prostaglandin-based therapy, and timolol, a beta-blocker. The data was presented at the 2019 American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting (AAO).
In this study, intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured in normotensive (normal ocular pressure) rabbits following a single topical dose of Bioscience’s proprietary nanoemulsion formulation of NB1111 compared to commercially available formulations of latanoprost and timolol. NB1111 demonstrated a statistically superior intensity as well as duration of IOP decline. The data were reported in a poster, “IOP Profiles Following Single-Dose ?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Valine-Hemisuccinate (NB1111) Nanoemulsion and Latanoprost,” presented by the University of Mississippi and Eli Labs of Oxford, MS.
Statistical comparisons of the IOP profiles of tested formulations
Formulation P-value
Statistical significance is recognized as p < 0.05
NEC-THC-VHS vs Timolol <0.0001
NEC-THC-VHS vs Latanoprost 0.0018
NEC-THC-VHS vs NEC-THC <0.0001
“The newer formulation of NB1111 encapsulates the prodrug in a nanoemulsion and is supplemented by an additive, carbopol, which increases the residence time of the drug on the eye after being administered (NEC-THC-VHS). This formulation is being developed for human use and it exhibited highly significant lowering of intraocular pressure not only against latanoprost and timolol, but also against natural THC, highlighting the importance of having a prodrug formulation to enhance entry of the drug into the eye,” noted Soumyajit Majumdar, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the School of Pharmacy. “Time of therapeutic impact was also enhanced and the data suggest potential for once-daily dosing of this drug. This is the most advanced and successful formulation of a cannabinoid-based ocular therapy that we have tested.”
“We anticipate the presentation of data examining multi-day dosing of NEC-THCVHS at the upcoming American Academy of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) 2019 meeting in November. Data will compare the IOP impact and time of pharmacologic activity of NB1111 versus the commercially available formulation of latanoprost, the most-prescribed medication for glaucoma in the world,” stated Brian Murphy, MD, CEO of Emerald Bioscience. “These are important experiments prior to initiating multiple human studies, which we project will be conducted throughout 2020.”
