Baltimore Company Aims to Develop Prescription Drug Alternative to Medical Cannabis
Baltimore company aims to develop prescription drug alternative to medical cannabis
Jude Uzonwanne, the CEO of MIRA1a Therapeutics, hopes his company’s drug can become a mainstream alternative to painkillers and medical cannabis.
By Matt Hooke – Reporter
August 23, 2022, 07:56am EDT
A Baltimore company is working on an alternative to cannabis that will offer another medication option for those struggling with chronic pain or anxiety.MIRA1a Therapeutics is currently preparing its namesake product, “MIRA1a,” for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process next year. The drug binds to the brain’s cannabinoid receptors — the same parts of the brain impacted by medical cannabis — in order to to replicate the anti-inflammatory and painkilling properties of cannabis, without the side effects such as increased appetite or anxiety. Commercial cannabidiol (CBD) products have a similar goal as MIRA1a, in that they provide the benefits of cannabis without the high, but as a prescription medication, MIRA1a will be subject to higher quality control standards and safety regulations than over-the-counter CBD, said CEO Jude Uzonwanne.
“No matter where you get the prescription from it’s a consistent quality, which is not something you can guarantee when you’re looking atover-the-counter cannabis,” Uzonwanne said.
Chief Science Officer Adam Kaplin said the compound, which has a similar chemical composition to THC but without one carbon molecule, has a stronger anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety effect than either THC or CBD. MIRA1a is 30,000% more potent than CBD and 8,000% more potent than THC when it comes to activating the receptors that lead to anti-inflammatory effects, Kaplin added.
Uzonwanne hopes that the compound will be used by those struggling with chronic pain or anxiety as a a non-addictive alternative to opioids, as well as medical cannabis. The access to those two markets gives MIRA1a a huge opportunity for growth, he added, claiming that the medical cannabis space has a market value over $14 billion and pain medication has a market value over $100 billion.
Read the full article at: www.bizjournals.com
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