Tetra Bio-Pharma Leads the World in the Promising Development of Cannabinoid-based Medicines
MANKIND HAS LONG KNOWN ABOUT THE MEDICAL BENEFITS OF MARIJUANA, BUT MONTREAL-BASED TETRA BIO-PHARMA aims to build on that knowledge in order to develop cannabinoid-based medicines using scientific methods and the safety data required to commercialize products for the pharmaceutical industry. The Canadian company is quietly becoming a world leader in this nascent sector as it has several cannabinoidderived drugs in advanced clinical trials in Canada, the United States and Mexico, including a synthetic inhaled cannabinoid pain-relief drug that they developed to replace medical cannabis. Tetra Bio-Pharma CEO Dr. Guy Chamberland explained how the failure of other companies to create cannabinoidbased pain medications that were as effective as inhaled cannabis inspired their researchers to figure out what others were missing. “For thousands of years, people have claimed that smoking cannabis relieves pain. It’s all anecdotal, but for me, as a drug developer, when you see that it’s lasted thousands of years, there’s something to it,” said Chamberland. Discovering how inhaled cannabis works and learning the pharmacokinetics of how pain-relieving chemicals were delivered to the central nervous system were key to developing their products, said Chamberland. “With that base of knowledge, we follow a classic drug development program that any pharma would have followed to develop a new product.” That research resulted in CAUMZ™, a cannabinoidderived medicine using synthetic THC and CBD which is delivered using a Health-Canada approved vaporizer that is currently being assessed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tetra Bio-Pharma is already talking with potential commercialization partners from around the world in anticipation of the drug gaining regulatory approval.
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spring / printemps 2020
BIOTECanada
The drug is undergoing a phase 3 clinical trial called SERENITY© to treat pain in advanced cancer patients and the company is planning for marketing approval by late 2020. In addition, Tetra Bio-Pharma has resumed a phase 2 trial called REBORN© which is a head to head efficacy study assessing CAUMZ™ versus Fentanyl® to measure the onset of action for breakthrough pain in cancer patients with the objective to secure a second indication for the drug by the middle of 2021. Not only is Tetra Bio-Pharma focusing its attention on creating cannabinoid-based drugs for pain relief, but they are also developing therapies for use in opthalmics and oncology, which are also undergoing clinical trials. On the pain-relief side, Chamberland is optimistic about the potential that cannabinoid-derived drugs like theirs could be used as alternatives to highly-addictive opioids. He noted that their drug is not an analgesic, but instead affects how the brain perceives pain so that the patient is not as bothered by it as before. “Because (the pain) doesn’t bother you anymore, you don’t need as much opioids as you did before and I think that’s the biggest breakthrough,” he said, adding it would also reduce the need for patients taking opioids to require anti-depressants and hypnotics that are regularly prescribed to treat the side-effects of depression and insomnia that come with debilitating pain. To expand its portfolio of products, Tetra Bio-Pharma acquired Halifax-based Panag Pharma in 2019 and Chamberland says his company is not averse to acquiring other companies if it would expand their product pipeline, strengthen an existing product or help them maintain their lead in the field of cannabinoid-derived medicine. “As a result of this acquisition, we have added highly qualified experts in cannabinoid science and medicine as well as a wealth of drug discovery and early phase drug development expertise and experience,” he commented. In addition, Tetra Bio-Pharma is investing in cannabis research at the university level, most notably by partnering with the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation to donate $1 million over a five-year period, $500,000 each, to establish a Health Research Chair in Cannabis at the University of New Brunswick.