Enveric Biosciences has a robust pipeline with multiple data points expected in 2021 for radiodermatitis and glioblastoma.
Pipeline
Advancing Novel Therapies
Across Multiple Indications
Radiation Dermatitis
Radiodermatitis (also called radiation dermatitis) is a condition caused by the high-energy X-rays delivered during radiation therapy. It affects nearly 95% of patients who receive radiation for cancer treatment, with approximately 85% of patients having moderate-to-severe skin reactions.
Radiodermatitis usually begins to occur within 1-4 weeks of treatment and persists for the duration of radiation therapy. It may require 2-4 weeks to heal after completion of treatment. The severity of the skin reactions ranges from mild erythema (red rash) to dry desquamation (itchy, peeling skin) to the more severe moist desquamation (open wound) and severe ulceration. Radiodermatitis can be similar to the discomfort of a mild-to-severe sunburn: painful, difficult to move or wear clothing, itching, and peeling skin. In the most severe cases, ulceration can occur, disrupting the treatment.
Beginning with the initial dose of radiation can cause tissue damage to occur. Exposure to high-energy beams disturbs cell regulation, leading to electrolyte imbalance and fluid loss within the cells. The radiation also disrupts the natural wound healing within the skin. Inflammation can trigger several factors, including impairment of the skin’s endothelial cells, skin-cell necrosis resulting in cell dehydration and infection.
Clinicians generally believe that the ideal method for preventing and minimizing skin reactions to radiation treatment is to provide anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial solutions at the cellular level and moisturization of the irradiated area. The current standard of care involves using a simple topical product with petrolatum to provide moisturization and occlusivity to the irradiated area, yet this has left both patients and doctors searching for more effective medicine.
CBD and Radiodermatis
CBD therapy works by interacting with the body’s Endocannabinoid System, which plays an essential role in regulating skin health. When CBD and other cannabinoids interact with the skin receptors, they appear to play a role in controlling inflammation levels and bolster immune response.
The skin, the largest organ in the body, possesses all the elements of the endocannabinoid system. The various elements in the endocannabinoid system are engaged in crucial mechanisms of skin regulation, such as control of growth of the epidermis and skin annexes, cell survival, immune and inflammatory responses, the transmission of sensory stimuli to the central nervous system (pain, itching) and the synthesis of lipids, among other activities.
CB1R agonists inhibit the activation of mastocytes and the release of histamine. The topical application of CBD has been shown to reduce skin inflammation in animal models. Other research suggests that CB1R expression in keratinocytes plays a pertinent role in maintaining the epidermal barrier. CB2R inhibits the inflammatory skin reaction mediated by IgE and intense spontaneous pruritus. The antibacterial action of CBD is widely accepted and has shown to be effective against Gram-positive bacteria strains that cause skin infections.
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)
Enveric Biosciences believes CBD has the potential to influence many of the key pathways involved in Glioblastoma pathogenesis, from tumor stemness and proliferation to angiogenesis and local invasion. Glioblastoma tumors express CB2 receptors, through which CBD and other cannabinoids are thought to exert their anti-cancer efforts (Ellert-Miklaszewska, Adv Exp Med Biol, 2013). The prospect of CBD used in combination with other pharmacologic interventions holds promise for the treatment of Glioblastoma.
As a result, CBD used in combination with other pharmacologic interventions holds promise for treating glioblastoma. Developing clinical trials to evaluate CBD combination therapies’ efficacy may represent an important next step toward improving the standard of care for treating glioblastoma for a population of patients with few effective therapeutic options available.
According to a Kenyon study in 2018
- Seven out of seven patients with glioblastoma experienced a positive clinical response to CBD (although four ultimately succumbed to the disease).
- CBD was hypothesized to reduce the growth and survival of glioblastoma cell lines by disrupting the normal function of the cell, or cell cycle arrest, and inducing programmed cell death, or apoptosis (Marcu, Mol Cancer Ther, 2010).
- Cannabinoids promote cancer cell death through overproducing a lipid subset called ceramides, as an accumulation of ceramides in glioblastoma cells may prevent the cell from functioning normally.
- Additionally, the generation of unstable oxygen molecules, or reactive oxygen species, can damage nearby molecules and trigger cell death (Dumitru, Front Mol Neurosci, 2018).
We Are a Patient-Centric Biotechnology Company
Enveric Biosciences is a patient-centric biotechnology company focused on developing new-generation, naturally occurring chemical compounds, such as cannabinoids, to provide palliative care for targeted, unmet medical needs, both extending and enhancing patient quality of life.
