Clinical stage cannabinoid company Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT) has been awarded a new Innovation Connections Grant by federal agency AusIndustry.
The company said the grant will accelerate its medicinal chemistry program targeting the creation of new synthetic and patentable analogs of cannabidiol, and continue to investigate the antimicrobial activity of cannabidiol.
Botanix initiated a medicinal chemistry program in 2018. It is targeting the development of new chemical entities with the potential to improve the performance of cannabidiol.
Challenges in its performance include bioavailability and protein binding. This makes the use of cannabidiol difficult for applications outside skin diseases.
Botanix said it has created a library of novel cannabidiol analogs with varying characteristics that show properties of the natural cannabidiol molecule can be enhanced without sacrificing activity.
According to executive director Dr Michael Thurn, “We are very pleased that this new program has been supported by AusIndustry through the Innovation Connections Grant program and we look forward to accelerating the development and testing of these novel cannabidiol analogs over the coming months.
“We are also pleased to continue our partnership with Dr Mark Blaskovich’s team at The University of Queensland. Their extensive expertise in testing molecules, combined with their understanding of the mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and state-of-the-art research facilities, will help facilitate the rapid advancement of these new drugs into clinical trials.”
The analog program is being conducted in collaboration with The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB). The grant amount is $50,000.