A synthetic form of an active ingredient used by medical marijuana companies is more effective than the natural substance, says medical dermatology company Botanix Pharmaceuticals.
US-based Botanix expects to list on the Australian share market in mid-July through a reverse takeover of Bone Medical.
Botanix is developing treatments for acne, psoriasis and dermatitis, using a synthetic form of cannabidiol, and has found a more effective way of delivering the drug, through the skin.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive compound that is found in marijuana that, unlike the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) compound found in the plant, does not get users high.
Medical marijuana companies are using cannabidiol in cosmetics and in treatments for skin diseases, pain, epilepsy, arthritis and schizophrenia.
It is believed that as a treatment for acne, cannabidiol reduces sebum (oil) production in the skin, reduces inflammation, reduces infection, and stops the over-proliferation of skin cells.
Botanix chief executive Matt Callahan says synthetic cannabidiol is purer and less variable than the natural substance.
Synthetic cannabidiol is 100 per cent pure, whereas the purest natural extract is 96 to 98 per cent.
Mr Callahan says the US drug regulator requires that every 0.1 per cent of an impurity has to be identified, characterised or tested to determine whether the impurity is another cannabinoid, a pesticide or some other substance.
"We are using a synthetic version of the drug, which means we avoid the natural extract problems that the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) doesn't like," Mr Callahan said.
"And if you're working with a natural product, it (the mix of compounds) changes due to the weather, the season, the genetic variety of the plant that you're working with - we don't want anything to do with that."
Also, the synthetic cannabidiol cost less per kilogram than the natural substance because the process of extracting a pure natural substance was complex and expensive.
Mr Callahan said Botanix had also developed a more efficient means of delivering the drug to its target.
He said that if one takes cannabidiol orally, only six per cent of it ends up in the blood, which does not make it effective for treating any sort of disease.
But if cannabidiol can be delivered through the skin, more than 90 per cent of the drug can be delivered to targeted organs.
Botanix has raised $3.5 million in an oversubscribed offer of shares at two cents each.
Botanix will use the money raised to fund clinical trials.
