- Incannex Healthcare (IHL) teams up with inhaled drug specialist Vectura to develop the IHL-216A for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Vectura will help develop the specific formulation for the drug required for clinical trials
- This comes not long after Incannex teamed up with Monash University to take on some in-vivo trials for IHL-216A with a specific focus on sports concussion
- IHL-261A is one of several cannabis-based treatments being developed by Incannex to treat a range of conditions
- Shares in Incannex are trading grey at 26 cents each at 10:33 am AEST
Incannex Healthcare (IHL) has teamed up with inhaled medicine specialist Vectura to develop the IHL-216A drug, designed to treat traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Vectura will help develop the specific formulation for IHL-216A required for clinical trials. This drug is one of several Incannex cannabis-based treatments in development to treat a range of conditions.
According to Incannex, Vectura has a strong track record as a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), having helped develop 13 successful inhaled medical products alongside the likes of Sandoz, Novartis and Bayer.
All up, these products have generated around US$11 billion (A$14.7 billion) in sales.
The IHL-216A drug is designed to combine cannabidiol (CBD) and any volatile anaesthetic agent like isoflurane. Made to be administered soon after head trauma to reduce the risk of brain injuries, the drug has specific potential for use in contact sports, according to Incannex.
As such, IHL-216A is being developed to satisfy World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) and Australian anti-doping standards.
Under the deal announced this morning, Vectura will take on formulation screening and manufacturing optimisation studies for the drug, as well as a stability assessment on the current lead IHL-216A formulation. Vectura will also manufacture a lab-scale batch of the product for toxicology studies.
On top of this, Vectura will be able to provide some key support to help Incannex navigate the regulatory approval process for both the drug and its inhalation delivery mechanism.
Complementary partnerships
Incannex partnered with Monash University’s Department of Neuroscience in March this year to take on an in vivo study for the IHL-216A drug, with a specific focus on sports concussion.
The company aid the TBI model used in the Monash study was developed with the US National Football League and is a precursor to important in-human trials for the drug.
As such, the Vectura partnership will help develop the drug alongside the in vivo study to make sure the specific formulation and delivery mechanism needed to advance the product through further trials is ready once the in vivo study is completed.
Shares in Incannex were trading grey at 26 cents each at 10:26 am AEST today. The company has a $276 million market cap.