MMJ Bioscience has partnered with the executive director of the New York State Multiple Sclerosis Consortium, Dr. Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, on a Food and Drug Administration-approved study testing the potential therapeutic applications of medical cannabis for multiple sclerosis patients.
Weinstock-Guttman also serves as a Professor of Neurology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She will serve as the principal investigator for MMJ Bioscience, an MMJ International Holdings affiliate.
Tom Ryan, MMJ Bioscience COO, indicated the partnership marks the initiation of their Phase 2 clinical trial for an Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA. Orphan drug designation is given to medicines that are found an effective “treatment, diagnosis or prevention” for conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people.
“MMJ BioScience’s discovery of a novel cannabinoid pharmacology through our network of world leading scientists, our intellectual property portfolio, proprietary formulations, contract processing, and regulatory expertise uniquely position us to develop and manufacture plant-derived cannabinoid formulations at sufficient quality and uniformity according to the FDA regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical development,” he said in a press release, adding that successful Phase 2 trials could lead to an FDA fast-track designation.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports the use of medical cannabis by patients and has called for more in-depth research on its use.