Regen BioPharma announced positive data demonstrating that its novel cannabidiol-based therapeutic approach successfully reduces rheumatoid arthritis in an animal model. The data disclosed today, which is the subject of a United States patent application, show that the Company's drug candidate induces activation of a type of immune system cell termed "T Regulatory Cells". The immunology community believes that T regulatory cells serve a fundamental role in protecting the body from uncontrolled inflammation or autoimmunity.
"The reduction of rheumatoid arthritis disease, which correlated with an increase in T regulatory cell numbers and a decrease in Th17 cells induced by the cannabidiol-based therapeutic drug mimics natural conditions in which autoimmunity goes into remission," said Thomas Ichim, PhD, Senior Advisor to the Company. "Similar changes in immunological parameters are seen in pregnancy, in which various autoimmune diseases are known to go into remission. We believe that we may have uncovered a new approach to autoimmunity that spares the patients the toxicity and side effects of non-specific immune suppression, which is the current treatment paradigm today."
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Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the immune system starts attacking components of the body. Major autoimmune conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and lupus.
"These current findings add another therapeutic candidate to our existing portfolio which centers of modulation of inflammatory pathways such as NR2F6," said David Koos, Chairman and CEO of Regen BioPharma. "What this means to our small molecule drug development programs is CBD appears when used with other compounds to amplify the desired outcome. Our current pipeline of NR2F6 small molecules both augment and inhibit interleukin-17 production, we see potential synergy between today's disclosed data and our ongoing small molecule programs."