Bod Australia
Bod has lodged an international patent application through the Australian patent office for a novel delivery device designed to address skin ageing.
The transdermal delivery device, which consists of a novel family of proteins, was developed in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney.
In recent testing, applying the device to human skin cells cut cell death from UV light exposure by as much as 30% compared with untreated cells. The device also offered protection against strong oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide, boosting cell viability by up to 20%.
The patent application covers the device itself, the methods used to produce it, and its potential applications across multiple fields. Bod holds full ownership and rights to the intellectual property and invention, including the patent application, and is actively exploring licensing opportunities.
CEO Jo Patterson said: "Lodging a submission with the Australian Patent Office for this unique formulation highlights the company's ongoing commitment to R&D and product commercialisation. The transdermal device is the result of extensive work undertaken with UTS and has very exciting potential in the major skin care and cosmetic markets.
"Work undertaken to date has now demonstrated that using the protein formulation on human skin cells can significantly protect against harsh skin oxidant and UV light exposure, making it applicable across a number of lucrative verticals.
"Bod will continue to work on varying combinations of the formulation. This will provide Bod with another innovative product with considerable revenue and commercial potential."
Incannex Healthcare
Incannex has wrapped up patient dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial of IHL-675A, its anti-inflammatory drug combining CBD and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).
The trial assessed the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profiles of IHL-675A against the reference listed drugs Epidiolex (CBD) and Plaquenil (HCQ).
Three cohorts of 12 participants each received either IHL-675A, CBD, or HCQ, with identical clinical assessments carried out across all three arms of the trial.
IHL-675A was well tolerated, with no adverse events of concern reported to date.
Incannex is arranging Phase 2 studies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and planning Phase 2 studies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and lung inflammation.
The company noted that the combined global annual market for treating these three conditions exceeds US$125 billion.
The firm is also preparing for a pre-IND meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focused on developing IHL-675A specifically for arthritis patients.
It intends to open an IND in parallel with the Australian Phase 2 study.
Incannex said that improved patient outcomes from IHL-675A could potentially open a significant commercial opportunity in arthritis treatment.
Managing director Joel Latham added: "Many people throughout the world are using unapproved CBD or cannabinoids for inflammation-based disorders.
"By undertaking pivotal clinical studies over IHL-675A, we intend to disrupt the market for CBD and open our product to the purview of medical professionals who are eminently more comfortable prescribing FDA-approved, pharmaceutical-grade products to their patients."
Medlab Clinical
Medlab's Phase 1/Phase 2 clinical trial of its THC/CBD pain relief candidate NanaBis in advanced cancer patients experiencing uncontrolled pain has been published in the journal PLOS One.
The study, conducted at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital under principal investigator Professor Stephen Clarke, found NanaBis had a superior pharmacokinetic profile and delivered a 40% reduction in pain among patients with bone metastases from breast and prostate cancers.
The pain relief associated with NanaBis came alongside improvements in quality-of-life measures including emotional functioning, dyspnoea, insomnia, and appetite. The drug showed a good safety and tolerability profile in the cancer cohort, with no major adverse events recorded.
Rua Bioscience
New Zealand company Rua Bioscience has received its first order for high-THC flower through German distributor Nimbus Health, calling it a "significant commercial milestone."
The flower was developed by Cann Group, Rua's Australian manufacturing, supply, and technical services partner.
Managing director Anna Stove said: "Receiving this order for dried flower from Nimbus signifies just how close we are to cementing export revenues and providing German patients with a sustainable supply of Rua medicines".
"At its launch, we believe Rua's flower will be one of the highest THC dried flower medicines on the market, which will give [us] a significant competitive advantage."
Emyria
Emyria has advanced its preclinical MDMA-inspired drug discovery program through its partnership with the University of Western Australia (UWA) and medicinal chemistry expert Dr Matt Piggott.
Emyria and UWA have been expanding and screening a drug-discovery pipeline of novel MDMA analogues to identify new chemical entities and drug candidates with the potential to address unmet needs in mental health and neurological disorders.
Emyria previously secured exclusive rights to all MDMA-like compounds created under the partnership.
Compound synthesis and screening is continuing, and a fourth batch of 14 unique compounds — informed by earlier screening results — was recently prepared and sent to pharmaceutical products testing firm Eurofins for preliminary screening. The total number of unique compounds in the library has now grown to more than 140.
Separately, five high-priority compounds have been shipped to the US for evaluation with specialist neuroscience contract research organisation (CRO) PsychoGenics. Additional studies have also begun with an Australian CRO to help determine the metabolic half-life of a priority set of compounds.
