Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings plc, the pharmaceutical company developing prescription cannabinoid medicines in pain markets (headquarter: London, UK; CEO: Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker; OCT), which licensed AskAt’s cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist AAT-730 for human use, announced an initiation of Phase 1 clinical trial for AAT-730, in which AAT-730 will be firstly administered to human (First-In-Human, FIH), in the United Kingdom.
Upon the initiation of this clinical trial, AskAt will receive a payment according to the terms of the License Agreement executed between OCT and AskAt as a result of achieving this milestone.
Mr. Akihiro Furuta, President and CEO of AskAt, commented “I am very happy to announce that OCT starts Phase 1 clinical study. A number of pharmaceutical companies have attempted to develop CB2-selective agonists without CB1-mediated neurological side effects without success. I strongly hope we will be able to provide patients with a medicine of highly selective CB2 agonist, with no CB1-related untoward effects, and high CB2-mediated pharmacological efficacy”.
The trial aims to confirm the safety/tolerability and pharmacokinetic profiles of AAT-730 in adult healthy human subjects. AskAt will continue to provide support to the licensee, OCT, to ensure that AAT-730 is delivered to patients as quickly as possible.
For more information, please refer to OCT’s Press Release in below:
About OCT:
OCT is a biopharmaceutical venture company established to combine cannabinoid medicine with world-class scientific research. In 2019, AskAt announced an agreement of worldwide licensing (except for Japan) for AAT-730 in human use with OCT. OCT debuted on the Main Market of the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) in May 2021. Please refer to the company’s web page for details (https://www.oxcantech.com/).
About cannabinoid CB2 Receptor Agonist AAT-730:
Cannabinoid receptors are a traditional drug target for pain and neurological disease therapy. Recent scientific research on cannabinoids has revealed the potential of the CB2 receptor, one of two cannabinoid receptors, as a molecular target for neuropathic pain, cancer pain, neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, neuroinflammatory diseases, cancer, and diabetes. CB1 and CB2 each have different distribution profiles and pharmacological functions in the human body. A number of pharmaceutical companies have attempted to develop CB2-selective agonists without CB1-mediated neurological side effects, however without success. AskAt is developing AAT-730, a small molecule and highly selective CB2 agonist, with no CB1-related untoward effects, and potent CB2-mediated pharmacological efficacy in in vivo studies. AAT-730 has shown potential as an effective therapy for Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which is OCT’s primary target indication of their forthcoming clinical development.
