Cardiol Therapeutics Inc.
Original-Research: Cardiol Therapeutics (von GBC AG):
Original-Research: Cardiol Therapeutics – von GBC AG
Einstufung von GBC AG zu Cardiol Therapeutics
Unternehmen: Cardiol Therapeutics
ISIN: CA14161Y2006
Anlass der Studie: Management Interview
Letzte Ratingänderung:
Analyst: Julien Desrosiers; Felix Haugg
The Company announced topline results from its Phase I Single and Multiple
Ascending Dose Clinical Trial of CardiolRx(TM). CardiolRx is a
pharmaceutically produced oral cannabidiol formulation being developed for
the treatment of acute and chronic inflammation associated with heart
disease. These results positively support Cardiol Therapeutics’ proposed
treatment dosage for their upcoming CardiolRx Phase II and Phase II/III
trials. David Elsley, President and CEO of Cardiol Therapeutics, stated:
‘Cardiol is initiating a Phase II/III clinical trial in the U.S.
investigating the cardioprotective properties of CardiolRx in 422
hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with a prior history of, or risk
factors for, cardiovascular disease, and we are planning to file an
Investigational New Drug application with the FDA for a Phase II
international trial in acute myocarditis, an inflammatory condition of the
heart which remains a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in children and
young adults.’
GBC AG: Mr. Elsley, first, we congratulate you for this achievement. To our
knowledge no other studies have incorporated such a high number of subjects
for single and multiple ascending dosing of high concentration cannabidiol.
Can you explain your decision to include over 52 participants?
David Elsley: To date, the clinical trials conducted with cannabidiol in
support of FDA approvals for the treatment of rare childhood epilepsies
have only involved children. It is therefore important to note that
Cardiol’s study is one of the most comprehensive Phase I clinical trials
ever conducted in adults. Cardiol’s study included fifty-two adult subjects
who received one of two doses of drug (5 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg of CardiolRx) in
both a non fed and fed state. Our study results demonstrated that when the
drug was taken with food, the blood levels of the drug were six to seven
times higher than when the drug was taken without food. This is an
important confirmatory finding as it supports our long-standing
recommendation that cannabidiol should be taken with food to optimize its
therapeutic potential. Cannabidiol is fat soluble, and when taken with
food, more drug reaches the blood circulation and becomes available to
target sites of disease. Furthermore, even at the very high doses
administered during our study, CardiolRx was shown to be safe and well
tolerated with no adverse impact on cardiac status or liver function.
GBC AG: These results allow Cardiol Therapeutics to move one step further
in the process of drug approval by the FDA. Can you give us more details on
the timeline for your two major clinical development programs?
David Elsley: We are currently initiating a landmark Phase II/III clinical
study in the United States in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD),
or risk factors for CVD, who are hospitalized with COVID-19. In this study
we are investigating the anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties
of CardiolRx in these high-risk patients, who experience markedly elevated
risk for mortality and major cardiovascular complications, such as heart
attack or stroke. This potentially registrational trial will enroll 422
patients at clinical research centers throughout the U.S. We are also
preparing to explore the cardioprotective properties of CardiolRx in a
second inflammatory heart condition called acute myocarditis. Acute
myocarditis is a devasting disease that represents a leading cause of
sudden cardiac death in young healthy adults and children and for which
there is currently no recognized standard of care. Based on the successful
results of the Company’s Phase I program, we are now preparing to file an
IND application with the FDA for a Phase II study in acute myocarditis; a
disease that is eligible for orphan drug fast-track designation in the
U.S., as it represents a life-threatening disease that affects less than
200,000 people in the United States. Importantly, GW Pharmaceuticals
utilized the U.S. orphan drug program to fast track the development of
cannabidiol for rare forms of pediatric epilepsy, and in 3.5 years
increased shareholder value by over US $6 billion.
GBC AG: When GW Pharmaceuticals, developer of the leading cannabidiol
epilepsies treatment Epidiolex, got acquired by Jazz Pharmaceutical for
over 7.2B USD, it served as a stamp of approval for new treatments based on
high dosages of cannabidiol. Do you believe that if CardiolRx got approval
for commercial production by the FDA to treat acute myocarditis, the
company could expect the same range of valuation or even higher?
David Elsley: The acute myocarditis market opportunity is essentially twice
the size of the market for rare epilepsies. The prevalence of the rare
pediatric epilepsies is about 37,000 each year, whereas the prevalence of
acute myocarditis is over 70,000 people. It is also important to note that
other treatments being investigated for acute myocarditis are extremely
expensive, with potential treatment costs in the range of USD $60,000. In
this context, the potential value of CardiolRx as a new drug for the
treatment of acute myocarditis is incredibly significant, as not only would
we have the opportunity to improve outcomes and quality of life for these
young patients, but we would also have an opportunity to save the
healthcare system the enormous expenses of treating patients in the
hospital.
GBC AG: When GW Pharmaceuticals conducted their Phase III trial for
Epidiolex, they had a total of 224 patients. Once again, your CardiolRx
Phase II/III Trial for patients with COVID-19 who have a prior history of,
or risk factors for cardiovascular disease will count twice as many
patients. Can you explain why you are embarking on such an important
clinical program?
David Elsley: Our Phase II/III trial has been designed to investigate the
impact of CardiolRx on the risk of mortality, major cardiovascular
complications, such as heart attack or stroke, and risk of progression to
intensive care or requirement for ventilatory support. In this context, we
have a unique opportunity to study a large patient population to determine
the ability of CardiolRx to affect the end result of disease, in addition
to studying the impact of our drug on a patient’s symptoms, quality of
life, and other markers of disease progression. To demonstrate the impact
of a new medicine on significant clinical endpoints such as mortality or
morbidity, typically larger patient numbers are required and that is why
our U.S. study design includes more patients than the previous studies in
epilepsy you are referring to. The other benefit of using a larger number
of patients in our study is the potential for the trial results to support
both an emergency use authorization and an application for marketing
authorization for the treatment of high-risk COVID-19 patients.
GBC AG: How fast after the approval from the FDA could you commercialise
CardiolRx regarding COVID-19?
David Elsley: The FDA has provided emergency use authorization in a matter
of weeks after positive data for other treatments. To the extent that we
continue to see outbreaks around the world of COVID-19, we believe that
positive results form our Phase II/III program would also support an
emergency use authorization by the FDA and possibly other jurisdictions
around the world. Positive results from this study may also support a new
drug application for the treatment of patients with a prior history of
cardiovascular diseases who become COVID-19 positive as notwithstanding the
roll out of vaccines, we believe there will be a need for effective
therapies for high-risk COVID-19 patients well into the future.
GBC AG: Lastly, you surround yourself with a team of leading practicians in
the cardiovascular field. More specifically, one fact caught our attention:
Dr. Matthias Friedrich and Dr. Carsten Tschöpe both have strong links to
Germany and more precisely Berlin. Dr. Tschöpe is the Vice Director of the
Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University Medicine
Berlin and was awarded the prestigious Arthur Weber Prize by the German
Cardiac Society for his cardiovascular research. Dr. Friedrich founded one
of the first large Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance centres in Germany at
the Charité University Hospital in Berlin. Can you explain us how Cardiol
Therapeutics and you personally came to have such strong ties with Germany?
David Elsley: Dr. Tschöpe is world renowned for his work in acute
myocarditis. At the Charité hospital in Berlin, he oversees one of the
largest myocarditis practices in all of Europe. Patients with acute
myocarditis are referred from all over Germany and Europe to the Charité.
Dr. Friedrich, who is now at McGill University Hospital in Montreal, also
spent many years in heart failure medicine at the Charité and he is also
internationally recognized for his work in electrophysiology in heart
disease. Inflammation increases your risk for abnormal heart rhythms which
can lead to ventricular tachycardia which can in turn result in sudden
cardiac death. Dr. Friedrich is an expert in looking at this aspect of
cardiac disease. In this regard, as heart disease does not respect borders
and affects people all around the world, we are extremely pleased that our
Steering Committee, which oversees the design of our clinical trial
programs, is made up of international specialists from Europe, the United
States, Canada, and Latin America.
GBC AG: CardiolRx’s treatment of acute myocarditis would not fight the
cause, usually a virus infection, but would limit the direct damages
inflicted to the patient heart tissue. It could therefore limit the
possible cardiac failure and irreversible damage to the ventricular
function due to the myocardial tissue inflammation caused by the infection.
What is your treatment trying to achieve?
David Elsley: We developed CardiolRx for patients that need cardio
protection during the acute phase of disease. We envisage providing
patients with high doses of cannabidiol over a relatively short period of
time (30-60 days) to provide rapid onset cardio protection during the acute
or dangerous phase of the disease. In short, we believe this therapeutic
strategy can help protect heart tissue from the damage caused by
inflammation and therefore reduce the consequences of this disease and
significantly improve patients’ quality of life.
GBC AG: Mr. Elsley, thank you very much for the interview.
Die vollständige Analyse können Sie hier downloaden:
http://www.more-ir.de/d/22347.pdf
Kontakt für Rückfragen
Jörg Grunwald
Vorstand
GBC AG
Halderstraße 27
86150 Augsburg
0821 / 241133 0
research@gbc-ag.de
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http://www.gbc-ag.de/de/Offenlegung
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Date (time) of completion of English version: 22/04/2021 (12:33 pm)
Date (time) of first distribution of English version: 22/04/2021 (02:00 pm)
——————-übermittelt durch die EQS Group AG.——————-
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