Intec Pharma to Pursue Development of Accordion Pill for Cannabinoid Therapies
Business Wire: August 4, 2016 – JERUSALEM, Israel – Intec Pharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: NTEC), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing drugs based on its proprietary Accordion Pill™ platform technology, announces the initiation of a new clinical development program for its Accordion Pill platform with the two primary cannabinoids contained in Cannabis sativa. Intec Pharma plans to formulate and test cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or AP-CBD/THC, for the treatment of various indications, including pain management. The company plans to initiate a phase I clinical trial with AP-CBD/THC during the first quarter of 2017.
Clinical testing by others appears to indicate that extracts of the Cannabis sativa plant containing known amounts of the active compounds (mainly THC and CBD) or diverse synthetic derivatives of THC are promising treatments supported by high-quality evidence for painful conditions that do not respond to available treatments, such as chronic, neuropathic, inflammatory, and oncologic pain.
AP-CBD/THC holds potential to address the major drawbacks of current methods of use and treatment with cannabis and cannabinoids such as short duration of effect, delayed onset, variability of exposure, dose variability, narrow therapeutic window, and adverse events that correlate with peak levels.
“We are excited to be expanding our development work to include cannabinoid-based therapies. Current methods of use and treatment with cannabis and cannabinoids are short-acting, which leads to a variety of therapeutic obstacles and gives rise to the need to improve the efficacy and safety of cannabinoids as therapeutics. We believe our Accordion Pill offers a unique opportunity to provide a longacting oral therapy of cannabinoids for various indications,” said Zeev Weiss, chief executive officer of Intec Pharma. “We believe that utilizing our proprietary platform technology may significantly extend the absorption phase for CBD and THC, thereby resulting in a prolonged and consistent therapeutic effect.”
Intec Pharma Ltd. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing drugs based on its proprietary Accordion Pill platform technology. The company’s Accordion Pill is an oral drug delivery system that is designed to improve the efficacy and safety of existing drugs and drugs in development by utilizing an efficient gastric retention and specific release mechanism. The company’s product pipeline currently includes three product candidates in clinical trial stages: Accordion Pill Carbidopa/Levodopa, or AP-CDLD, which is being developed for the indication of treatment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms in advanced Parkinson’s disease patients, Accordion Pill Zaleplon, or AP-ZP, which is being developed for the indication of treatment of insomnia, including sleep induction and the improvement of sleep maintenance, and an Accordion Pill that is being developed for the prevention and treatment of gastroduodenal and small bowel nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced ulcers.
