Pascal Biosciences Discovers Cannabinoids Activate the Major Histocompatibility Complex to Aid Cancer Treatment
23 September 2019 - 10:30PM
Pascal Biosciences Inc.
(
TSX.V:PAS) (“Pascal” or the “Company”) today
revealed the mechanism whereby cannabinoids may directly aid in
cancer treatment.
Specific cannabinoids identified by Pascal
scientists enhance the immunogenicity of tumour cells, rendering
them more susceptible to recognition and elimination by the immune
system. Besides combatting infection, one of the key roles of the
immune system is to identify and eliminate cancer cells that can
arise during the normal course of cell growth in healthy
individuals. The Major Histocompatibility Complex (“MHC”) is the
cellular machinery that flags tumour cells for the immune system.
However, most metastatic tumour cells have lost their MHC
expression, and thus escape immune system killing. Specific
cannabinoids reactivate MHC expression and may restore immune cell
destruction of tumours. This could aid cancer treatment,
particularly by boosting the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors, an
exciting form of immunotherapy that is only effective in a fraction
of patients.
Pascal first discovered that cannabinoids can
stimulate the immune system to destroy tumour cells in February
2018. Since then, Pascal has tested over 400 natural and synthetic
cannabinoids in Pascal’s proprietary assays. Pascal has further
studied the immune activities that occur with cannabinoid
treatment.
Pascal CEO Patrick Gray will present these
exciting results at the CannMed 2019 Conference – Inspiring
Science, Community & Hope – taking place September 23-24 at the
Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA.
“We have made great progress since first
announcing our results last year. We now have a much better
understanding of the interplay between cannabinoids, the immune
system, and cancer,” said Dr. Gray. “This work has enabled us to
choose a specific cannabinoid with a good safety profile for human
testing. We are nearing clinical development and we have the
scientific understanding and patent protection to move our product
forward.”
About Pascal Biosciences Inc.
Pascal is a biotechnology company focused on
advancing innovative approaches for the treatment of cancer
including cannabinoid-based therapeutics and targeted therapies.
The Company’s leading portfolio comprises a small molecule
therapeutic, PAS-403, that is advancing into clinical trials for
the treatment of glioblastoma, and PAS-393, an immuno-stimulatory
cannabinoid to be used in combination with checkpoint inhibitor
therapy. In addition, Pascal is developing a B-cell targeted
antibody for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For more information,
visit www.pascalbiosciences.com.
Investors: invest@pascalbiosciences.com
Media Contact: Julie
Rathbuninfo@pascalbiosciences.com Tel: 206-769-9219
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