A flavonoid of cannabis – FBL-03G – has been granted Orphan drug status by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
It is anticipated this will now lead to clinical trials with humans for treating pancreatic cancer with cannabis within the next few months.
Flavocure, a drug discovery and development company, was granted Orphan drug status to its lead drug candidate, the cannabis flavonoid Caflanone (FBL-03G), by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following the successful demonstration of its therapeutic efficacy in tumour progression in animals with pancreatic cancer.
Treating pancreatic cancer with cannabis
Dr Henry Lowe, Executive Chairman of Flavocure, said: “We are very pleased to have received Orphan Drug designation from the FDA for Caflanone. This is a significant milestone that underscores Flavocure’s successful innovations and drug development programme.
“Our Investigational New Drug (“IND”) enabling studies have reaffirmed outstanding results and we anticipate commencing with clinical trials in humans in the coming months to address pancreatic cancer.
“The world requires and demands a new standard of care that is both effective and novel for the treatment of this disease. As a recognised leader in this field of drug discovery, we are poised to bring this new standard of care to the world.”
Dr Ngeh Toyang, CEO, said: “Despite fewer than 200,000 people per year being diagnosed with the disease, pancreatic cancer is the third most common cause of death among cancer patients in the United States.
“We are also motivated by feedback and inquiries from around the world arising from the publication of results from our joint Flavocure and Harvard Medical School pre-clinical studies in the Frontiers in Oncology Journal“.
Flavonoid FBL-03G
Caflanone – FBL-03G – has been derived from an endemic strain of Cannabis Sativa found in Jamaica.
Professor Lowe, Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland Medical School and University of the West Indies Medical School, discovered this rare form of flavonoid rich phytomedical material.
The Flavocure research team developed a proprietary synthesis of the bioactive material, which is now available in commercial quantities for use in human clinical studies. The drug delivery payload has been designed to utilise a nano-drone delivery technology developed by Harvard Medical School for which protocol has been approved by the FDA.
The drug, in pre-clinical studies conducted at Harvard Medical School, exhibited powerful results in difficult to treat animal models of pancreatic cancer contributing to clinical optimism in the medical and research community; and, a high level of interest from the patient community.
Orphan Drug Designation
The Orphan designation was passed into law by President Ronald Reagan, as the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, to encourage the development of drugs which may provide significant benefit to patients suffering from rare diseases.
The designation by the FDA is granted to promote the development of drugs that target conditions affecting 200,000 or fewer US patients annually and that are expected to provide significant therapeutic advantage over existing treatments.
Orphan designation qualifies a company for benefits that apply across all stages of drug development, including an accelerated approval process, seven years of market exclusivity following marketing approval, tax credits on US clinical trials, eligibility for orphan drug grants, and a waiver of certain administrative fees.
im interested in research trials as is my wife with cancer in remission
Fighting!
Hi, my aunt was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. How would I be able to get her on the research trials. Thank hour
Interested in trials. Family has pancreatic cancer
Sister has fast growing Pan.Can. Looking for any trials that are upcoming in the Mid Atlantic region. Alex Trebec variety
I am a 49-year-old with no other health issues other than recently being diagnosed with Stage 3/4, non-operable Pancreatic Cancer. 2 tumors, not yet metastasized. Very interested in clinical trials, hoping some will be available near Chicago.
Waiting for this clinical trial to begin. My husband has metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Praying for a miracle.
Have any of you had any blood pressure medication that could’ve resulted in your cancer ? Amlodipine has been proven to cause pancreatic cancer in women
Has anyone gotten a response from this company regarding trials? My wife is hoping to participate asap
My mom was just diagnosed Thursday (3-26-2020) with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that spread to her liver. Who do I contact for a trial study?
Dear Lionel,
We only report on the news and cannot recommend who you would contact regarding this.
Thank you for your interest in our article.
Kind regards
MCN Team
My wjfe has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and is on chemotherapy I am looking forward to join her on the clinical trial
I have been diagnosed with stage 3/4 pancreatic cancer. I am interested in joining a clinical trial of this FBL-03G therapy.
How do I find info on the trial?