GB Sciences is seeking a patent for marijuana-based mixtures capable of preventing and treating several inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
The patent application involves using cannabinoid-containing complex mixtures (CCCM) to disrupt the signaling pathways of immune cells that play a role in inflammatory diseases starting and continuing. It the second application for a life-sciences invention by GB Sciences’s subsidiary, Growblox Life Sciences.
GB Sciences said its cannabis-based therapies may be an effective way to treat the inflammatory diseases that impose a serious health and economic burden on the United States — a cost it put at over $200 billion a year.
“Although inflammatory reactions are a necessary part of human immunity in some situations (e.g., fighting pathogens), humans (and animals) suffer from multiple inflammatory disorders involving hyper-inflammatory responses. Our novel CCCM strategically target multiple arms of these hyper-inflammatory responses in parallel for maximal effect, rather than inhibiting a single arm like other commonly available anti-inflammatory therapies,” Andrea Small-Howard, GB Sciences’s chief science officer, said in a press release.
“For example, anti-histamines are partly effective, but leave untouched those inflammatory pathways that lead to release of other pro-inflammatory mediators, such as bioactive lipids and cytokines. GB Sciences’ approach is to simultaneously target as many inflammatory outputs as possible with our CCCM, leading to more comprehensive relief from tissue inflammation.”
The company said it is developing cannabis-based products for both inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases.
“GB Sciences is committed to developing cannabis-based therapies for inflammatory disorders that affect large numbers of patients (arthritis, dermatitis, allergic asthma, eczema, IBD, Crohn’s disease, etc.). Our CCCM products will be developed to the same efficacy and safety standards as other commercially available anti-inflammatory therapies; however, cannabis-based medicines often have more favorable side effect profiles than traditional pharmaceuticals.” said John Poss, GB Sciences’s CEO.
IBD affected 1.4 million Americans in 2012, according to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. The term covers chronic or recurring immune response and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.