A UPF spin-off company will develop the drug that can be used to treat moderate chronic pain without the side effects of opioids.
A spin-off company of the Pompeu Fabrá University (Barcelona) will create a medicine that will allow medical cannabis to be used to treat chronic pain and cannabis addiction itself. The new drug will allow cannabis to develop its analgesic properties, but without the cognitive effects associated with its main psychoactive component, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The company was born with the support of UPF within the framework of its commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology to society through the Innovation Unit-UPF Business Shuttle office.
The partners of the new company, Disrupt Therapeutics (Disrupt) are Rafael Maldonado, Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Neuropharmacology-Neurophar Laboratory, David Andreu, Professor of Chemistry and Head of the Proteomics and Protein Chemistry Research Group and Patrick Tresserras, entrepreneur and CEO of the company.
CANNABIS WITH NO EFFECTS ON THE MIND
The team of researchers and now entrepreneurs has developed compounds that allow to dissociate the therapeutic effects of unwanted secondary effects on perception and mind. These compounds are peptides designed, synthesized and patented by Disrupt that can modify the activation processes of the cannabinoid system with THC.
The peptide chosen to be developed as a drug is DRT-017 and can be used to prevent cognitive impairment associated with the medicinal use of cannabis and cannabinoid-based medicines in patients with chronic pain, as well as to combat cannabis use disorder.
THC produces analgesia by binding to cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors, but these also bind to the serotonin receptor 5HT2A, causing cognitive and memory disturbances. The UPF team has discovered how to separate the action on both receptors, so that THC can activate CB1 and reduce pain without affecting the serotonin receptor or altering memory.
A UNIQUE DRUG TO TREAT MODERATE CHRONIC PAIN
“The compound (DRT-017) has generated interest in the pharmaceutical sector taking into account the current lack of effective drugs for moderately severe pain conditions, and in particular neuropathic pain in which cannabinoids have a greater therapeutic potential,” explained Dr. Maldonado at the press conference presenting the project.
Currently, mild or moderate pain is treated with analgesics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen) with adverse effects at the gastrointestinal, renal and hematological levels, and more severe pain with opiates that have an important addictive potential. The new Disrupt drug will treat chronic cases of moderate pain, offering an effective, safe relief alternative with fewer side effects.
THE SITUATION OF MEDICINAL CANNABIS IN SPAIN
The new medicine will be able to take advantage of the new legal situation of cannabis in Spain. Last June, the Health and Consumer Affairs Committee of Congress gave the green light to the legalization of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Now the government has to make a bill that will be processed in Congress in the coming months. Had. The approved opinion proposes to regulate this substance to relieve pain and the effects of treatments of some pathologies, such as discomfort after chemotherapy.
The report states that medical cannabis will be indicated for people with cancer pain, endometriosis, spasticity and multiple sclerosis, some forms of epilepsy, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, and chronic non-oncological pain. However, it suggests that it can be extended to other therapeutic cases when the studies “provide consistent evidence”.
