VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Juva Life Inc. (CSE: JUVA) (OTCQB: JUVAF) (FRANKFURT: 4VV) (“Juva Life,” “Juva” or the “Company”), a life sciences portfolio company with operations in cannabis production and distribution as well as pharmaceutical research and development, announced today that it has identified a proprietary compound, JUVA-041, found in the cannabis sativa family of plants with significant anti-inflammatory properties.
Through its research division, Juva research scientists are evaluating an internally curated database of compounds found in the cannabis plant for their therapeutic benefit. The news follows the Company’s identification of non-cannabinoid compound JUVA-019, which the Company has filed a patent upon and also begun further preclinical research. In recent months, Juva has been developing a chemical library of natural and semi-synthetic non-cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant with the intention of identifying compounds with anti-inflammatory properties, with the first compound being identified as JUVA-019. Juva’s hypothesis is that the therapeutic potential of cannabis is widely known, yet the cause of the overarching medical benefits of cannabis is mostly undefined. While many speculate that cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) interacting with the endocannabinoid system are the cause of the benefit, Juva is taking a chemical approach to the research, looking further into the compounds present in the plant beyond cannabinoids that may have the benefit. As such, the Juva research team has built an extensive database of less studied compounds that it continues to evaluate for their anti-inflammatory potential, now having two compounds in its clinical pipeline: JUVA-019 and JUVA-041.
“Juva is a unique company in that we are leveraging our cannabis expertise to vertically integrate value-building science,” said Doug Chloupek, CEO and Founder of Juva. “While we remain focused on completing the build out and monetization of our cannabis cultivation and distribution facilities, this year we have expanded the scope in which Juva operates to now include translational research and development. Our team of scientists have taken a modern learning strategy to understand how cannabis works. While the current industry focus centers on cannabinoids, our strategy breaks from this school of thought and is focused on unappreciated non-cannabinoids with significant therapeutic potential. We have now identified two non-cannabinoid compounds that may begin to explain the clinical benefits of cannabis through an anti-inflammatory mode of action. We are excited to add to our commercial efforts in cannabis a proprietary R/D platform to execute our 2018 “farm to pharma” roadmap. Through these discoveries, and the ensuing work to follow, I can proudly state that Juva is no longer simply a cannabis operator, but a full-fledged life sciences company with existing plant-touching assets paired with industry-leading scientific research.”
JUVA-019 and JUVA-041 are now designated as lead compounds. The Company plans to conduct comparative studies on the candidates to determine if combining them with other cannabinoid or non-cannabinoid compounds increases the efficacy of the anti-inflammatory mode of action. Based on those results, Juva will either move forward with the standalone compounds, or the newly discovered, more effective formulations. After said results, the candidates will be developed in a 2-prong approach. The natural chemophores will be advanced unmodified and evaluated for select applications in the consumer nutraceutical and wellness categories. In parallel, standard medicinal chemistry tools will be applied to improve upon potency and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties. The compounds will be advanced through a standard pharma development stage/gate plan, beginning with profiling in industry-standard in vitro and in vivo models of inflammatory disease. This profile is necessary to attract the attention of larger pharmaceutical players who may be interested in the candidates for their own pipelines. The Company anticipates initiating non-clinical development within the next 6-9 months. This combined consumer and medical strategy reduces development cost, risk, and time, and creates an opportunity for Juva to unlock shareholder value sooner than other pharmaceutical competitors.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
-Doug Chloupek-
Doug Chloupek, CEO and Founder
Juva Life Inc.
inquiries@juvalife.com
About Juva Life Inc. (CSE: JUVA) (OTCQB: JUVAF) (FRA: 4VV)
Juva Life is employing state-of-the-art science to discover, develop and commercialize safe and effective wellness and pharmaceutical products, in both the cannabis consumer segment as well as the non-cannabinoid based medical industry. The Company is successfully executing against its 2018 roadmap, initially starting with standardization of cultivation, extraction, and formulation to offer consumers reproducible benefits. Juva is building upon these natural product process chemistry skills, to now include discovery pharmacology. The Company will leverage revenue derived from its retail operations to advance its consumer and clinical development efforts of Juva-019 and Juva-041, as well as other potentially valuable non-cannabinoid bioactives with significant consumer and pharma products applications. Juva is working to bring the Cannabis market face to face with the sector’s next generation investment grade business model. Find out more at: https://juvalife.com/.
For further information, please contact:
Juva Life Investor Relations
Tel: +1 833-333-5882 (JUVA)
Email: inquiries@juvalife.com
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