AXIM bags pot discount for gum to treat multiple sclerosis

Axim Biotechnologies

04/01/2016 12:51

By Natalie Grover 
    Jan 4 (Reuters) - AXIM Biotechnologies Inc  AXIM.PK , a 
small, Manhattan-based company with ties to the Netherlands, 
says it has a trump card in its quest to develop a 
cannabis-based chewing gum to ease the symptoms of multiple 
sclerosis. 
    The company says it will be able to price its gum cheaper 
than a major competitor after securing a "significant" discount 
on cannabis made available by the Dutch government, which has a 
policy of promoting the drug for medicinal use. 
    To be sure, AXIM has a long way to go before its Medchew Rx 
gum - still in the pre-clinical stage of development - will be a 
viable alternative to an under-the-tongue spray developed by GW 
Pharmaceuticals Plc  GWP.L   GWPH.O . 
    That spray, called Sativex, is already approved in 27 
countries - though not the United States, where cannabis remains 
prohibited under federal law. 
    There is no cure for multiple sclerosis, or MS, which 
affects about 400,000 people in the United States. About 80 
percent of patients suffer from spasticity, a condition often 
treated with the muscle relaxant baclofen. 
    Existing oral therapies offer limited relief from spasticity 
and pain and come with side-effects such as muscle weakness. 
Botox, an injectable alternative, offers localized treatment and 
is costly. 
    Provided treatment is regulated, cannabis could be 
therapeutic for MS patients, said Dr. Paul Wright, chair of 
neurology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New 
York. 
    "I do believe that there's a role for it," he said, "but I 
am fearful of the potential for abuse." 
    AXIM's gum and GW's spray are both designed to offer more 
consistent relief than artisanal products derived from cannabis 
that are smoked or eaten and are legal only in parts of the 
United States. 
    A typical British patient takes four sprays of Sativex daily 
at a cost of about 5.56 pounds ($8.24). But state health systems 
in some countries, including GW's home market, do not consider 
the drug sufficiently cost-effective to justify coverage. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL6N0S317M 
    Lekhram Changoer, AXIM's Dutch chief technology officer, 
said the company would be able to pass on the discount from its 
Dutch-sourced cannabis to customers. He declined to estimate an 
exact price. 
    Dr. Marco van de Velde, head of the Dutch health ministry's 
office for medicinal cannabis, said the government was making 
the drug available to AXIM and other companies. He declined to 
give further details. 
    For its part, GW - a pioneer in the development of natural 
cannabis-derived medicine - has no immediate plans to source 
cannabis from the Netherlands. The company grows its own plants 
at a secret location in England. 
    "Breeding our plant is something that's absolutely essential 
to our competitive position," said GW spokesman Stephen Schultz. 
    AXIM, which started out in the organic waste business before 
reinventing itself last year, hopes its mint-flavored gum will 
be on sale in the United States as early as 2017. 
    This will depend on whether the Food and Drug Administration 
grants an accelerated development timeline that would allow it 
to leapfrog GW, which is waiting to discuss with the agency if 
and how a late-stage study for Sativex will proceed. 
    AXIM thinks its case could be bolstered by research already 
undertaken by GW, which has established "evidence of safety" for 
its drugs derived from natural cannabis. 
    The FDA said it would not comment on any specific drug. 
 ($1 = 0.6745 pounds) 
 
 (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani 
Ghosh and Robin Paxton) 
 ((natalie.grover@thomsonreuters.com;)(within U.S. +1 646 223 
8780, outside U.S. +91 99 1694 7070; Reuters 
Messaging:)(natalie.grover.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: CANNABIS AXIM/