A botanical drug that contains extracts of a cannabinoid plant and extracts of the Cyathus striatus fungus has eliminated 100% of pancreatic cancer cells. The drug specifically targeted cancer cells and did not kill any healthy cells.
The fungus used in the trial has been tested for its anti-cancer properties for the past 8 years at the University of Haifa. It became the chosen fungus after showing better anti-cancer effects than any other fungus trialed.
The drug has been developed by the biomedical company Cannabotech in partnership with Professor Fuad Fares, a senior cancer researcher at the University of Haifa. Cannabotech received exclusive rights for the patents created in Professor Fares’ research and began the process of creating a botanical drug to the FDA’s requirements.
The company has announced that in a cell model trial, the adapted extract showed five times higher anti-cancer efficacy than the original extract while causing 100% mortality of pancreatic cancer cells.
Cannabotech is currently conducting a feasibility study phase, which it expects to finish by mid-2023. At the end of this they will collaborate with a larger pharmaceutical company to develop the drug further. The next milestone will be to test the drug’s anti-cancer effect in people and animals.
Pancreatic cancer is currently one of the most difficult to treat, and has a low survival rate. This treatment has the potential to be life-changing; a sentiment echoed by Professor Fuad Fares:
“The fact that such impressive results have been obtained in cells that mimic a subtype of pancreatic cancer that is known to be highly aggressive, reinforces the assessment that anti-cancer activity will be effective in other subtypes of pancreatic cancer as well.”
