Nemus Bioscience secured the services of Noramco to manufacture and assist in the scale up process of its cannabidiol (CBD) analogue, cannabidiol-valine-hemisuccinate (CBDVHS).
Bill Grubb, chief innovation officer at Noramco, explained why the partnership was formed: “Noramco’s technical knowledge in cannabinoid process development and scale-up, as well as clinical manufacturing capabilities, were complementary to Nemus’ desire to bring novel, differentiated cannabinoid therapies to patients.”
He added that Nemus had been referred to work with Noramco by a ‘leading US university’ that specialises in cannabinoid research.
The analogue, itself, possesses greater bioavailability compared to CBD, according to results seen in initial animal studies by Nemus. The investigational compound was developed by the University of Mississippi, using amide ester bioengineering.
Nemus has licensed the technology to develop therapeutic options for diseases of the retina, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. The greater bioavailability of the compound could allow it to penetrate into the posterior chamber of the eye, Nemus stated.
The aim is to scale up production of CBDVHS to conduct pre-clinical and clinical studies.
Josh Hoerner, MD of R&D and clinical solutions at Noramco, told us what this would entail, “There are a number of challenges with manufacturing a unique analogue of CBD. Some specific examples include taking a small-scale medicinal chemistry route and developing it into a robust and scalable manufacturing route, developing new analytical methods, and proving the stability of the new analogue.”
However, Hoerner outlined that Noramco had been able to address these challenges to produce a product suitable for parenteral drug delivery.
Grubb had previously told us that demand for CBD APIs is growing and he projected this would continue to grow over the next five years – pointing to potential compound annual growth rate of between 24% and 55%.
