- Cannabinoid skincare company Botanix (BOT) has proven its BTX 1801 compound’s ability to treat and prevent surgical site infections (SSIs)
- The company tested the BTX 1801 formulation on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA
- This is a superbug; a type of bacteria that has become extremely resistant to treatment and as such can cause major infections
- Botanix’s product was able to completely eliminate MRSA from human skin when used with a high dose of cannabidiol (CBD)
- Importantly, the treatment was also proven to be safe for nasal administration
- Shares in Botanix are trading just under two per cent higher today, worth 5.5 cents each
Cannabinoid skincare company Botanix (BOT) has proven its BTX 1801 compound’s ability to treat and prevent surgical site infections (SSIs).
The company has released encouraging results from a study testing the formulation’s ability to eliminate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — known as MRSA or Golden Staph — from infected human skin explants.
Complete elimination
BTX 1801 was tested ex vivo — meaning in real human skin that has been explanted as opposed to on a living person.
The company tested the BTX 1801 product with various doses of cannabidiol (CBD) on the skin, with positive results from each. Importantly, the product with the highest dose of CBD was able to completely eradicate MRSA from the skin.
This is important because MRSA is what’s known as a ‘superbug’: a type of bacteria that’s tough to deal with because of how resistant it is to conventional treatment. These bacteria often cause SSIs.
Botanix said there was no evidence that the BTX 1801 with higher doses of CBD was any more toxic to the skin than the lower doses. The data suggests that direct application of the product to the nasal passage is safe.
Company President and Executive Chairman Vince Ippolito said Botanix is extremely encouraged by the new data.
“The results show rapid bactericidal activity of BTX 1801 against MRSA and that the ointment completely eradicated MRSA from clinically relevant human skin implants after 24 hours,” Vince said.
“This builds on previous animal studies conducted by Botanic further validating the potential of BTX 1801,” he said.
Most SSIs are caused by a patient infecting themselves from their own nose where MRSA bacteria can colonise. This is why it’s so important that BTX 1801 can be safely administered nasally — the product is designed to destroy the bacteria in the nose so it can’t infect any surgical sites.
Is CBD the key?
Botanix also conducted a second study to investigate the effect of synthetic CBD on regular Staph.
This study grew Staph on an agarose pad and tested synthetic CBD against a negative control. Essentially, the CBD was proven to be able to disrupt the bacterial membrane, meaning the bacteria were unable to multiply and eventually died.
The results from these studies support the current phase 2a clinical trial of BTX 1801, which Botanix plans to finish in the final quarter of 2020.
Shares in Botanix are trading slightly higher in the first minutes of trade, currently up 1.85 per cent and worth 5.5 cents each.