Deep in the brain, buried within the central nervous system as well
as lymphatic tissues and organs throughout the body are cannabinoid
receptors; patiently waiting to help address a myriad of diseases.
With the advent of cannabis research and therapy development many
patients will likely trigger them very soon.
Two known receptors in the Endocannabinoid system are CB1 and
CB2. There is mounting evidence that there are many more. Simply
put, this system of receptors is involved in dealing with a variety
of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood
and memory.
Activating these receptors by introducing the appropriate drug
based on a specific formula of cannabis, primarily utilizing
Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has already shown
remarkable potential efficacy, albeit somewhat anecdotal, in the
treatment of a host of afflictions ranging from cancer to epilepsy,
glaucoma, MS, Tourette's and even eczema.
To date there have been approximately 100 cannabinoids
identified; each with the potential to be an integral component of
a lower cost treatment; countering the expensive and frequently
toxic Big Pharma drugs and therapies.
The current level of research and development of cannabis
therapies is analogous to where the Internet was in the mid 1990's.
What is known is that the introduction of targeted phytocannabinoid
formulations, such as those with CBD and THC, signal the body to
make more endocannabinoids and open more cannabinoid receptors
enhancing the body's ability to fight pain and disease.
"At this point, we don't actually know how many therapies are
possible utilizing phytocompounds, but we suspect hundreds, if not
thousands," stated Craig Schneider, President and CEO of Cannabis
Technologies (CAN: CSE, CANLF: OTCQB). "To that end, CAN has
developed a proprietary Cannabinoid Drug Design Platform (CDP) to
identify new bioactive compounds within the cannabis plant that
interact with certain genes responsible for specific diseases."
The poster stock in this Life Sciences sector is GW
Pharmaceutical. The Company IPO'd at $8.90 in May 2013 and traded
as high as $107 in 2014. When investors compare the metrics of
peers GWPH and CAN, the case for the latter appears compelling.
While it would be easy to draw the usual David and Goliath
analogy, in this case the participants, while competitors are
really more peers, working toward the same therapeutic goals. And,
as a result of the focused CDP development process, cannabis
therapies can be on the market in 4-6 years versus 10-15 years as
is the norm through the Big Pharma pathway.
GW currently trades at $87 has a market cap of $1.5 billion and
had trailing twelve-month (ttm) revenues of $50 million, is
virtually debt free and has approximately $163 million in cash.
Cannabis Technologies trades at $0.37 is pre-revenue and has a
market cap of $12 million with roughly $600k in cash. CAN shares
have a 2014 high of $0.71 and low of $0.33.
GWPH market cap is 30 times revenue. Translating that multiple
to eventual revenues to early stage CAN evidences compelling growth
potential.
GWPH, as CAN, decided early on to dedicate R&D to therapy
development and plant their respective flags firmly in Life Science
space instead of the class of 'Medical Marijuana' companies with
all the different connotations.
These companies are involved in serious and life saving science.
There are others as well, including AbbVie, which makes the FDA
approved chemotherapy nausea treatment Marinol, which is a
synthetic formulation of THC. Valeant Pharmaceuticals produces
Cesamet, which is a like treatment. The best known to investors is
likely GW's vapor delivered Sativex, used currently in 25 countries
outside the US for treatment of the spasticity associated with MS.
Sativex is currently in clinical trials for approval as a treatment
of cancer pain.
CAN's Schneider notes: "The media has categorized CAN as an
early-stage GW Pharma, a comparison we welcome. We are currently
entering Phase 1 trials for our glaucoma treatment CTI-085, which
showed great therapeutic promise in pre-clinical trials relieving
the ocular pressure associated. This initial therapy is much more,
being a proof of concept of the ability of our CDP to identify
specifically engineered treatments to deal with many debilitating
and deadly diseases."
For context, the $12 billion ocular disease market includes $5.7
billion for glaucoma.
Other drugs in development include GW's Epidolex for the
treatment of rare diseases as well as other compounds in clinical
trials for treatment of autoimmune, diabetes and schizophrenia.
The key to therapy going forward is this specific engineering
and the ability to replicate the compound for quality and
consistency. Sativex is basically 50% CBD and 50% THC. The CBD
component has the dual task of being the active ingredient as well
as damping down the psychotropic effects of the THC. CBD comes from
the hemp plant and has only trace THC.
As new cannabis drugs develop, individual formulations will be
more therapy specific, have non-cannabis ingredients added and
undergo stringent quality and consistency controls.
Big Pharma has a right to be nervous. Side effects from cannabis
therapies are virtually non-existent, development costs are
extremely low by comparison--$5 billion on average per Big Pharma
drug—and companies like CAN are confident that as it progresses it
can develop therapies in a period of 60-90 days instead of
decades.
Part of the strategic engineering is not just how much of this
and that goes into a compound. The key is to develop plants that
produce the right material for each formulation. It is not
inconceivable that if there were 500 cannabis therapies, there
would be 500 different strains of cannabis plant as 'feed
stock'.
The label of Medical Marijuana companies, when referring to
enterprises such as GW, CAN, AbbVie and Valeant, are the exception
to what appears to be a wild west show at times. These are serious
life science companies. To include them with the plethora of
Medical Marijuana initiatives, whether junior mining companies
looking for a new direction or those that feel simply growing
generic marijuana is a sound business plan, many will likely fail
or be swallowed.
Like the Internet of old where there are few survivors today
from that era, the cannabis space will eventually be littered with
casualties as it builds out. What is not in dispute, is that the
efficacy of cannabis appears undeniable and therapy development
will continue and likely speed up, building on early successes. GW
and CAN will likely be among those to grow and prosper; a good
thing for both shareholders and, more importantly, those millions
of patients suffering from particularly nasty diseases and
conditions.
Innovative science requires scientists. Rounding out CEO Craig
Schneider's 20 years of capital market and biopharmaceutical
experience CAN has two world-class scientists. Dr. Sazzad Hossain
Ph.D, M.Sc., Chief Science Officer, brings two decades of
experience in new drug discovery and natural health product
development. His practical experience includes senior scientist at
the NRCC bringing and has generated over $500 million in revenue
from therapies he has been involved in developing from the
discovery to commercialization.
Key as well is the Company's breeding, genetics and cultivation
division led by Dr. Hyder Khoja, Ph.D., M.Sc., A.Ag. who brings 17
years of extensive research and business provenance in life
sciences and business services.
Management has spoken frequently about addressing larger therapy
markets including cancer, metabolic diseases and pain and
inflammation. On par with GW, CAN has plans to produce medicines
in-house initiated by its CDP technology, breeding and cultivation
division and proprietary formula engineering. Even at this early
stage, the Company is keenly aware of the need for not just the
development of therapies but the ability to replicate each with
strict quality and consistency.
Further adding to shareholder value is a patent pending for
CAN's CDP and a plan to protect IP by filing patents as therapies
are developed.
If you are considering investing in the cannabis space, buy the
science. Hype has a very short shelf life.
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CONTACT: Cannabis Technologies
#350-409 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
Canada, V6C 1T2
Tel: 604.669.7207
Fax: 604.683.2506
info@cannabis-tech.com
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