We live in a world where more people than ever before have poor lifestyle habits, leading to an ever increasing sedentary lifestyle, and poor eating habits. In particular, the intake of refined sugar for much of the world’s population is grossly excessive. The consequence? A literal global epidemic of diabetes and obesity.
The death/health toll is staggering.
- 5 million deaths annually
- 2.2 million more deaths from pre-diabetes
- 415 million adults living with diabetes, compared with only 108 million in 1980
Those hundreds of millions of sufferers living with this metabolic condition face a long list of related health consequences, which dramatically impact their way of life. It starts with the radical alteration of eating habits and the requirement for regular blood-sugar testing, as well as (very likely) some form of insulin therapy – for life.
“Diabetes runs in families.”
We’ve all heard this before. In other words, there is a strong genetic connection with diabetes. This brings us to the corporate mission of a company called PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV, Forum).
The use of insulin to manage diabetes was a tremendously important breakthrough in terms of saving and prolonging lives. But insulin therapy doesn’t halt the progression of this relentless disease, let alone reverse its effects. Thus existing approaches to diabetes “therapy” represent fighting a losing battle: merely delaying the inevitable consequences of this disease.
PreveCeutical Medical Inc. wants to win this war. How? Diabetes is a genetically-based condition, thus a true diabetes solution effectively involves genetic reprogramming. The research team at PreveCeutical is confident that by silencing a key gene implicated in raising blood sugar levels and storing fat they can correct the underlying cause of this disease.
That’s the first – and easiest – part of winning this war. The difficult part is fixing this genetic abnormality. The ingenious solution to which the Company is committed is described as “gene silencing”. Understanding this requires delving a little deeper into the science.
With diabetes, over-production of a particular protein molecule has been identified and purposed to be responsible for the key drivers of diabetes and obesity, starting the patient on an inevitable journey of significant co-morbidity and increased rates of mortality.
PreveCeutical’s gene-silencing technology would effectively “turn off” the genetic signal which leads to the over-production of this key protein molecule, bringing it back down to safe, normalised levels; this would in turn help our cells to absorb glucose, thus reducing blood sugar levels and prevent the body from storing excessive fat from our diet. Thus gene-silencing does not represent a mere management for diabetes and obesity, it represents the potential for a bona fide cure or, in cases where patients have a pre-disposition to diabetes or are in the pre-diabetes state, it can be applied as a ‘PreveCeutical’ to halt progress to the full blown disease.
This is not merely theoretical. Five years of painstaking work has gone into this initiative and management has already taken this research through the proof-of-concept stage in cellular models of diabetes and obesity.
The Big Prize
What is the economic toll for a world with millions of deaths from diabetes annually, hundreds of millions of people living with the disease, and where both the number of deaths and number of sufferers are rapidly increasing? $673 billion
Globally, we currently spend $673 billion each year just managing diabetes (with limited success).
How much would a cure for diabetes be worth for the world’s governments, faced with coping with this $2.5 trillion per year price-tag? For investors, there is an even better question. How much would one of the world’s Big Pharma companies pay to own the cure for diabetes and obesity?
In 2004; French drug company Sanofi-Synthelabo SA paid $65 billion (USD) for Aventis SA. In 2000, Pfizer Inc. paid $90 billion (USD) to acquire Warner-Lambert Co. To be clear, these acquisition targets had fully developed healthcare pipelines.
However, bringing PreveCeutical’s gene-silencing technology to the world involves not merely treating the 422 million diabetics, world-wide. It means seeking to treat the billions of people potentially at risk for this disease. What is that worth…in 2017 dollars? It’s worth enough to put a smile on the face of PreveCeutical’s management – and the Company’s shareholders.
PreveCeutical’s research team calls this gene-silencing approach “single gene dual-therapy”. Why dual? Diabetes is almost always accompanied by a parallel health disorder which further complicates the disease: obesity.
The Company’s research is led by Dr. Mak Jawadekar, the Chief Science Officer, and Dr. Harry Parekh PreveCeutical’s Chief Research Officer.
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Winning the war on diabetes also means winning the war on the principal cause of obesity. Revisiting the question, what would a Big Pharma company pay to own a cure for diabetes and obesity?
Near-term Pot of Gold
For many investors; the potential “big prize” alone is reason enough to look to take a position in PreveCeutical. But this Company is far from being a one-trick pony.
Winning the war on diabetes and obesity is a significant endeavour. Management estimates it would/will take another four years to get through the pre-clinical testing, which would lead into the multi-phase clinical trials, where regulatory approvals would need to be sought and granted before this (potential) cure is ready for the global market.
In the meantime, PreveCeutical’s research team is hard at work on perfecting another of its proprietary innovations: a superior drug-delivery system. Two constant issues with the efficacy of conventional drugs (and conventional delivery systems) are speed and effectiveness.
When we take a pill, it generally takes at least 20 minutes for the medication to pass through our digestive tract and enter the bloodstream (in a sufficient concentration). Meanwhile, the digestive process itself metabolizes much of the medication, reducing the therapeutic effect.
PreveCeutical has a better drug delivery system under development. While devising this technology requires overcoming many complex hurdles, the idea behind the technology is simple: a nasal spray. The significance here is that our nasal tissue provides rapid and direct access to our bloodstream, delivering much quicker drug therapy for patients. But the Company wasn’t satisfied with this single innovation.
PreveCeutical has engineered this nasal spray to deliver a mist that transforms into a gel on contact with our nasal passages. The advantage of being able to deliver medication via a gel is much longer duration of effect, because the gel releases the medicine at a gradual, constant rate. Management estimates that this innovation will allow drug-users to take their medication only once or twice per week.
Fast relief. Dramatically increased duration of effect. For many drugs and the treatment of many medical conditions, this is a game-changer – a valuable game-changer. The Company is currently projected to have their nasal spray technology ready for clinical trials in 18 – 24 months.
The drug-delivery technology market is projected to be worth $1.7 trillion by 2021. Axim Biotechnologies Inc, a company which has devised a chewing gum to use for drug delivery has a present market cap of more than $550 million.
While management won’t rule out selling its drug-delivery technology (if the price is right) the Company’s preference is to license it to other pharmaceutical companies, allowing for a robust revenue stream from a potential long list of pharmaceutical clients.
The Company has two strategic components to its business model, each of which would/could represent a home-run for investors. However, PreveCeutical also has a true pharmaceuticals division, complete with its own, unique drug pipeline.
Existing revenue base
How unique? A recent Stockhouse feature delved more deeply into PreveCeutical’s proprietary drug research.
It starts with the venom of the Caribbean blue scorpion. Medical science has long known that such venom has potentially potent medicinal properties. The problem? ‘Milking’ enough venom from blue scorpions to service even one particular healthcare niche is completely impractical – making the cost of any such drug therapy prohibitive.
The solution? Synthesis. Referring back to diabetes, the technological breakthrough which made the use of insulin to treat diabetes practical was learning how to synthesize insulin, and thus mass-produce it.
The result of this research initiative is CellB9 which contains a natural compound extracted from the Caribbean blue scorpion and is specifically developed for the treatment of certain forms of cancer. In more general terms, CellB9 is projected for use in pain management, immune-system response, improved sleep, and reducing inflammation.
The Company is already pushing this through the clinical drug trial process. Management is projecting completing (final) Phase III clinical testing within 24 months. However, PreveCeutical is already marketing CellB9.
CellB9 is currently being retailed online as a “nutraceutical”, and is targeting both the Canadian and EU markets. This is also the approach which management intends to take with respect to the other focus of its proprietary pharmaceutical research: synthesizing cannabinoid-based medications.
By now, cannabis investors and regular Stockhouse readers are well aware of the almost limitless potential of cannabinoids as medicinal therapies. This was the original impetus for research into the nasal spray delivery platform.
Management was already committed to designing and developing cannabinoid-based medications. Nasal spray technology was the company’s most logical answer to producing a system for delivering cannabinoid-based medications which would mimic the rapid, effective relief which cannabis patients currently derive from smoking medicinal cannabis.
The nasal spray delivery platform can (will) deliver cannabinoid medications, without the health issues associated with smoking, while still delivering maximum therapeutic results. This makes such medications safe for use even for children/infants. Even better, with this extended release technology, patients can derive all the benefits of cannabinoid medications while potentially only requiring administration once or twice per week.
The biotechnology space is a highly competitive sector, where dozens of up-and-coming corporations are racing against each other to be first to bring to market new, innovative technologies. We live in a world with aging populations and national healthcare budgets strained to the breaking-point.
In this world, we have never had such a great need for new therapies and innovative technologies which can reduce the costs of treating at least some of the most-serious diseases. For the same reasons, bringing such healthcare solutions to the marketplace has never been more lucrative.
PreveCeutical Medical has a multi-faceted business strategy which involves bringing such technology to market. Genetically-based healthcare solutions, a superior drug-delivery platform system, and proprietary pharmaceutical products are all integral parts of this strategy.
It is a formula for success as a biotechnology company. It could very possibly also be the path to winning the $2.5 trillion war against diabetes & obesity.
FULL DISCLOSURE: PreveCeutical Medical Inc. is a paid client of Stockhouse Publishing.