Crescita Therapeutics Inc.™ and Tetra Natural Health Collaborate to Enhance Transdermal Delivery of Beta-Caryophyllene in Tetra's Dermatology Product Portfolio
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
Crescita Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian commercial dermatology company and Tetra Natural Health (NHP), a subsidiary of Tetra Bio-Pharma, a leader in cannabinoid-derived drug discovery and development, today announced an agreement to develop an enhanced version of Tetra's dermatology portfolio using Crescita's patented transdermal delivery technologies: Multiplexed Molecular Penetration Enhancer ("MMPE™") and DuraPeel™. The primary active ingredient contained in the product portfolio to be reformulated is beta-caryophyllene ("Beta-C"), which is known to work on Cannabidiol ("CBD") 2 receptors. The testing methodology and the clinical development made possible by the collaboration will help optimize the delivery of Beta-C and several other active ingredients into the skin and local tissues.
Some of Tetra's dermatology products have already been approved by Health Canada as natural health products, and address several medical conditions, including but not limited to, muscle and joint pain, cold sores and hemorrhoids. In late 2018, Crescita published the favorable results of a study demonstrating the enhanced permeation of CBD, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis. The in-vitro skin permeation study showed that both MMPE and DuraPeel significantly increased the transdermal permeation of CBD over the control formulation by up to 14- and 6-fold, respectively. Based on these results, Tetra believes that the use of Crescita's patented technologies will improve the permeability and potentially, the efficacy of Beta-C and will enhance the intellectual property of its dermatology portfolio.
In addition, the companies have entered into discussions related to Crescita's contract manufacturing services to produce Tetra's enhanced product portfolio once the desired results have been attained in the development and testing phases of the collaboration.
"We are excited to partner with Tetra Natural Health, another home-grown Canadian Company and to assist them in the development and evaluation of several enhanced-delivery formats of their topical products," said Serge Verreault, President and Chief Executive Officer of Crescita. "By integrating Crescita's patented MMPE and DuraPeel technologies into their existing formulations, we believe we will be able to significantly enhance the delivery and related efficacy of their products which will help improve outcomes for Canadians suffering from a variety of painful conditions," added Mr. Verreault.
"This new collaborative agreement signed with Crescita will allow Tetra Natural Health to address many Canadian patients' dermatology needs. Crescita's technology is outstanding and we believe it will set our natural health dermatology portfolio apart from our competition. Not only will it improve permeability of our Beta C derived products, but it may also improve their efficacy." said Richard Giguère, Chief Executive Officer of Tetra Natural Health.
