Pharmos receives $1.3 million grant from Israeli government to develop cannabinoid compounds

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, April 10 - Pharmos Corp. announced Monday that it has been awarded a grant of up to $1.3 million by the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The funds have been granted for the development of drug candidates from the company's CB2-selective platform of synthetic cannabinoids, according to a company news release.

About 50% of the funding is designated for research and development expenditures within Israel and 50% is designated for international expenditures, officials said.

A portion of the grant will be applied to late-stage preclinical and clinical costs for developing cannabinor, the company's lead CB2-selective drug candidate for the treatment of pain indications.

The grant also will contribute to the company's ongoing efforts in developing new drug candidates in its proprietary CB2-selective cannabinoid platform technology and library.

The grant is available through fiscal year 2006 and is paid in direct relationship to actual expenditures made by the company in the designated programs.

"As we look forward to the initiation of phase 2 trials, we appreciate the continuing support from the OCS and are committed to work toward justifying the confidence the chief scientist has in Pharmos' capabilities," Haim Aviv, chairman and chief executive officer, said in the release.

The CB2-selective synthetic cannabinoid platform technology constitutes a library of synthetic compounds that bind preferentially to and activate the CB2 cannabinoid receptor in peripheral cells and residually to the CB1 receptor that is expressed mainly in the brain.

Consequently, many molecules on this platform display anti-inflammatory and immune-modulation properties and are potentially safe and efficacious in treating central nervous system and systemic diseases and disorders including pain, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and psychiatric conditions, the company believes.

In January, Pharmos said it had successfully completed a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, intravenous, escalating single dose phase 1 trial for cannabinor, a CB2-selective synthetic cannabinoid drug candidate that has been shown to have activity in preclinical animal models of various types of pain and several autoimmune diseases. The data indicate that cannabinor was safe and well-tolerated with no severe adverse events in the escalating single dose safety trial, officials said.

The company said it plans to initiate a phase 2a study during the second quarter of this year in patients experiencing post-operative pain following third molar extraction.

Pharmos also said it has been notified that the company was granted up to $219 million out of a $366 million approved budget for a 10-month period starting March 1, 2006 as part of its activities within the PharmaLogica Consortium, which operates within the framework of the Magnet program operated by the Israeli Ministry of Industry & Trade.

PharmaLogica develops new models for the prediction of pharmaceutical drug qualities and characteristics, such as biological availability, metabolic stability and toxicity.

Pharmos, based in Iselin, N.J., discovers and develops novel therapeutics to treat a range of indications, including neurological and inflammatory disorders. The company's core proprietary technology platform focuses on discovery and development of synthetic cannabinoid compounds.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.