GW Pharma establishes university cannabis collaboration

Collaboration

GW Pharmaceuticals plc has agreed a collaboration with Mike Cawthorne and the Clore Laboratory, Buckingham University, to carry out research on the use of cannabinoids in treating Type II diabetes and metabolic disease. Part of the Clore Laboratory has been named the GW Metabolic Research Laboratory.

Cawthorne, Director of Metabolic Research at the Clore Laboratory, is an authority in the research of new treatments for obesity and Type II diabetes. He was formerly employed by SmithKline Beecham plc, where he was group director for diabetes and obesity research and led the research team that discovered the insulin-sensitiser drug   rosiglitazone (Avandia).

The objectives of the alliance are to provide GW with a dedicated facility for pre-clinical pharmacological studies of cannabinoids in metabolic disease, to provide GW with access to other plant-based therapies under evaluation at the Clore Laboratory, support the development of new cannabinoid drugs for treating metabolic syndromes and to enable to company to access advice from Cawthorne.

GW Pharma has a license from the British Government to grow cannabis for medicinal use, and has previously developed Sativex, an inhaled spray for the treatment of various symptoms of multiple sclerosis. However, cannabinoid receptors are also known to play a role in a range of other pathologies.

Geoffrey Guy, GW’s chairman, said the company has already carried out pre-clinical studies on its cannabinoid compounds in several models of diabetes, with promising results. “We believe [our research in] diabetes and metabolic syndrome offers significant commercial potential. This collaboration will allow us to progress this research effort to develop a number of potential new cannabinoid product candidates.”

GW’s preclinical research has shown desirable effects on plasma insulin, leptin and adiponectin levels, which are all hormones of relevance to the development and treatment of diabetes. The two leading cannabinoid candidates are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and cannabidiol (CBD). CBD has shown potential beneficial effects in hypercholesterolaemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, while THCV has shown desirable effects, notably in raising energy expenditure.

Both THCV and CBD have completed Phase I clinical trials and GW is preparing to advance a combined THCV:CBD drug candidate into a Phase IIa multiple dose study in the treatment of dyslipidaemia and fatty liver disease in Type II diabetic patients.