VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veritas Pharma Inc. (CSE:VRT); (OTC:VRTHF); and (Frankfurt:2VP), (“Veritas” or the “Company”) announces that it has initiated a cancer research project to assess the effects of several human cancer cell lines against select cannabis strains, along with standard clinical chemotherapeutic drugs for comparison.
The Company has engaged Dr. Dmitri Petchkovski of Fibroblast Consulting in Vancouver, Canada to specifically investigate lung, prostate, colon, breast, and melanoma cancer cell lines. Veritas’ research arm, Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. ("CTL") will provide Dr. Petchkovski with the required strains and oversee the implementation of this project.
Veritas CEO, Dr. Lui Franciosi stated, “We are fortunate to obtain Dr. Petchkovski’s expertise, who will now begin the important task of scientifically determining the potential anticancer properties of Cannevert’s cannabis strains. Cancer is a disease that has touched many people and we want to provide physicians and patients with the best possible scientific evidence when prescribing cannabis as a treatment.”
Cancer is a disease that results from changes in a group of normal cells within the body where they begin to grow uncontrollably to the point that a lump known as a tumor forms. If left untreated, these tumors spread into the surrounding normal tissue or to other parts of the body.
According to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2017, there is an estimated 206,200 new cases of cancer and 80,800 deaths from cancer that will occur this year in Canada. Approximately half of all new cases will be lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. This will mean about 1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes and 1 in 4 will die of the disease. In the current medical literature, there is insufficient scientific evidence that demonstrates cannabis or cannabinoids can cut the risk of cancer in people. Most cancer scientists focus on understanding how different cancers respond to specific compounds in cannabis. Veritas’ approach will be to quickly access more cannabis varieties, systematically profile the effects of the whole plant using various in vitro and in vivo animal models of cancer alongside standard drugs, and conduct a clinical trial in the fastest time possible.
Veritas Pharma intends to seek patent protection for any discoveries made during this cancer project. According to this year’s Zion Market Research report, the global cancer drugs market was valued at approximately USD $113 billion in 2015 and it is expected to rise to around USD $161 billion by the end of 2021. Within the next two years, the Company would like to enter and actively compete in this market with its scientifically-based cannabis therapies.
About Fibroblast Consulting
Dr. Dmitri Petchkovski, the principal owner of Fibroblast Consulting, has over 30 years of academic and R&D experience in cell biology and medicine. He is an internationally recognized expert in the respiratory cell and molecular biology as well as pulmonary fibrosis. Dr. Petchkovski received his MD degree at the Medical University of Belarus, followed by a PhD in Immunology and Immunotherapy of Cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). He has worked as a scientist at the Biotechnology Consortium “Interleukin” in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russia and Riga, Latvia in the laboratory to evaluate pharmacology of human recombinant interleukins. He completed his post-doctoral training at the Medical Centre of Freiburg University (Germany), prior to joining the University of British Columbia and the Heart and Lung Research Institute in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, primarily in the immunology, cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry, and he’s a member of American and Canadian Thoracic Societies, European Respiratory Society, American Society for Cell Biology, and International Cannabinoid Research Society. Dr. Petchkovski is author of several patents, and he has played a key role in R&D programs, clinical development, and commercialization of cannabinoid therapies, providing services to leading Canadian cannabis pharma companies.
About Veritas Pharma Inc.
Veritas Pharma Inc. is an emerging-stage pharmaceutical and IP development company, who, through Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd. ("CTL"), is advancing the science behind medical cannabis. It is the Company aim, through its investment in CTL, to develop the most effective cannabis strains (cultivars) specific to pain, nausea, epilepsy and PTSD, solving the critical need for clinical data to support medical marijuana claims. CTL’s unique value proposition uses a low-cost research and development model to help drive shareholder value, and speed-to-market. Veritas investment in CTL is led by strong management team, bringing together veteran academic pharmacologists, anesthetists & chemists. The company's commercial mission is to patent protect CTL’s IP (cultivars & strains) and sell or license to cancer clinics, insurance industry and pharma, targeting multi-billion dollar global markets.
Veritas Pharma Inc. is a publicly traded company which trades in three countries including Canada, on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the ticker VRT; in the United States, on the OTC under the ticker VRTHF; and in Germany, on the Frankfurt exchange under the ticker 2VP.
For more information, please visit our website: veritaspharmainc.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Dr. Lui Franciosi"
Dr. Lui Franciosi
President and Chief Executive Officer
Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.veritaspharmainc.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the CSE website at www.thecse.com.
Investor and Public Relations Contact
Veritas Pharma Inc.
Sam Eskandari
Telephone: +1.416.918.6785
Email: ir@veritaspharmainc.com
Website: www.veritaspharmainc.com
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