- MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC) has reported successful results from an ongoing research program aiming to develop a treatment for glioblastoma
- The pre-clinical research program is testing novel cannabinoid formulations on the aggressive brain cancer which is so far therapeutically resistant
- Results so far show that using a combination of cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabidiol (CBD) causes a significant number of the cancerous cells to self-destruct
- Furthermore, the tests found CBG to be effective in targeting glioblastoma stem cells which are highly resistant to chemotherapy
- MGC gained 3.33 per cent by market close with shares worth 3.1 cents each
MGC Pharmaceuticals (MXC) has reported successful results from an ongoing research program aiming to develop a treatment for glioblastoma.
The pre-clinical research program is testing novel cannabinoid formulations on the aggressive, primary brain cancer which is so far therapeutically resistant.
Results show that a multi-compound cannabinoid formulation is more effective than single cannabinoid preparations.
The research has found that using a combination of cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits tumour cell viability and causes a significant number of the glioblastoma cells to self-destruct via a process known as apoptosis.
This combination was sufficiently effective at inducing apoptosis, without the need for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which has psychotropic effects.
Furthermore, the formulation with CBG is shown to be able to target glioblastoma stem cells. These cells are highly resistant to chemotherapy meaning that even after initial treatment they can multiply and lead to tumour reassurance.
These stem cells have also been shown to be resistant to THC and CBD. However, in an experiment whereby the cancer stem cells were exposed to CBG, more than a third were dead two days later.
MGC Pharma Co-founder and Managing Director Roby Zomer explained how these results will be followed up in the ongoing research program.
“Further research, using the in-vitro diagnostic platform on a glioblastoma patient’s tumour cells will focus on the most effective CBG and CBD combination doses and doses of cannabinoids to approach individualised, informed treatment of patients, avoiding unwanted effects of THC.”
The research program is being conducted in partnership with the National Institute of Biology and the Neurosurgery Department at the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
MGC gained 3.33 per cent by market close with shares worth 3.1 cents each.