SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 21, 2018 / Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc. (EHP), a company developing medicines based on cannabinoid science, today announced that Carmen Navarrete, Ph.D., a scientist involved in research on EHP's lead product candidate, EHP-101, a patented synthetic cannabidiol (CBD)-derived new chemical entity (NCE), received an award for her post-doctoral presentation on EHP-101 at the 28th Annual International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) Symposium held in Leiden, Netherlands. The award recognizes extraordinary achievements in scientific innovation from all fields of cannabinoid research.
"We are very proud of Dr. Navarrete's receipt of this prestigious award for her work on EHP-101," said Jim DeMesa, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of EHP. "We believe that EHP-101's demonstrated potential as a disease-modifying treatment for multiple sclerosis and scleroderma showcases the beginnings of what our industry can achieve. The recognition of this distinguished award underscores the vision and dedication of the teams behind EHP-101, and further strengthens our pursuit to help patients with these serious, incurable diseases."
Dr. Navarrete, Senior Scientist at Vivacell Biotechnology España, a company involved in a research collaboration with EHP, received the award for her post-doctoral presentation entitled, "Effect of Oral VCE-004.8, a Cannabidiol Quinol Derivative, on Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis", which provided evidence that EHP-101 (previously known as VCE-004.8) is a promising small molecule to modulate relevant multiple sclerosis targets, having PPARγ and CB2-mediated anti-inflammatory activity, and the potential to enhance remyelination through the induction of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-dependent neuroprotective pathway (destruction of myelin around nerves is the primary feature of multiple sclerosis). EHP-101 is expected to enter a Phase I clinical study before year end.
The International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) is the most prestigious global organization dedicated to scientific research relating to and acting as a source for impartial information on cannabis and cannabinoids.
About EHP-101
EHP-101 is a drug product candidate based on a proprietary aminoquinone NCE derived from synthetic CBD. It has been modified to enhance the therapeutic benefits of CBD by increasing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) agonist activity, and also by affecting the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway. Multiple scientific publications indicate that PPARγ and CB2 receptor activation and the HIF pathway can effect neuroinflammation and myelination in the central nervous system, and fibrogenesis in the periphery. EHP holds patents on EHP-101 and other new chemical entities in this class of synthetic CBD-derived molecules. EHP plans to initiate first-in-human clinical studies with orally-administered EHP-101 this year.
About VivaCell Biotechnology España SL.
VivaCell Biotechnology España SL is a privately held research company focused on new non-psychotropic cannabinoids for the treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. It is a worldwide pioneer in the discovery and research of cannabinoid derivatives as well as other synthetic chemicals targeting the endocannabinoid system. Additionally, VivaCell's expertise includes research on botanical extracts (non-psychotropic cannabis varieties) such as CDE-001 to improve inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis. VivaCell is wholly owned by Emerald Health Research, which is part of the Emerald Health group, and has a direct collaboration research agreement with EHP to perform scientific research on EHP's product candidates.
About Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals is developing product candidates derived from cannabinoids for the treatment of CNS, autoimmune, and other diseases. EHP has two families of new chemical entities, derivatives of synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), including EHP-101, and derivatives of cannabigerol (CBG), including EHP-102. These novel synthetic derivatives have been modified through rational drug design to affect validated receptors pertinent to targeted diseases. EHP-101 is focused on treating neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and scleroderma. The company intends to launch a Phase I clinical study of EHP-101 in 2018. EHP-102 is in preclinical development and is currently focused on treating Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals is part of the Emerald Health group, which is broadly focused on developing pharmaceutical, botanical, and nutraceutical products that may provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the human body's endocannabinoid system.
For more information, visit www.emeraldpharma.life or contact: info@emeraldpharma.life.
To the extent statements contained in this news release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc. they should be considered "forward-looking statements," as described in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that reflect management's current beliefs and expectations. You can identify forward looking statements by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "hope," "hypothesis," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "strategy," "will," "would," or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: (i) the success and timing of our product development activities and clinical trials; (ii) our ability to develop our product candidates; (iii) our plans to research, discover, evaluate and develop additional potential product, technology and business candidates and opportunities; (iv) the anticipated timing of clinical data availability; and (v) our ability to meet our milestones. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals' investigational drug products have not been approved or cleared by the FDA.
SOURCE: Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc.
