Gb Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB:GBLX), a leading plant-inspired, biopharmaceutical research and drug development company, has co-published a study in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology that demonstrates the efficacy of its proprietary cannabinoid-containing, minimum essential mixtures (MEM) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). There is a great clinical need for improved therapeutics, and the market for Parkinson's disease treatments is expected to grow to $8.8 billion by 2026.

"Our drug discovery process has identified promising ratio-controlled mixtures of cannabis-inspired compounds for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, which have proven effective at reducing Parkinsonian motor symptoms in an animal model of the disease," said Dr. Andrea Small Howard, President, Chief Science Officer, and Director of Gb Sciences. "This study allows us to continue addressing unmet clinical needs through the development of novel plant-inspired drugs, and positions Gb Sciences as a contributor to the expanding world of novel PD therapeutics."

For this Gb Sciences-sponsored study, the discovery research using cell models of Parkinson's disease was performed at Chaminade University (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA), and the MEM refinement and validation research was performed in a zebrafish model of Parkinson's disease at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The study entitled "Identification of minimum essential therapeutic mixtures from Cannabis plant extracts by screening in cell and animal models of Parkinson's disease" was co-authored by Gb Sciences' own President and Chief Science Officer Andrea Small-Howard and her collaborators Michael G. Morash, Jessica Nixon, and Lee Ellis from the National Research Council of Canada; Lori M.N. Shimoda and Helen Turner from Chaminade University of Honolulu; and Alexander J. Stokes from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (Manoa, Hawai'i, USA).

The sequentially reductionist process implemented in this multi-site study preserves some of the entourage-like effects of whole plant extracts while achieving "relative" simplicity within MEM that is a requirement for obtaining the manufacturing and quality control advantages of single-ingredient drugs. This paper identifies promising minimal essential mixtures of cannabinoids based on a step-wise, strategic approach to reducing the complexity of the plant secondary metabolome. The sequential use of in silico, in vitro, and medium throughput in vivo experimental systems has generated refined, de-risked mixtures that can now be tested in additional, higher-cost, preclinical model systems of PD.

Gb Sciences' Parkinson's therapeutics are currently being tested in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease at the University of Lethbridge, and these Parkinson's MEM have been formulated as Oral Dissolving Tablets in preparation for human clinical trials. The Company is preparing for the final rounds of toxicology and pharmacology testing as required for filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

To learn more about Gb Sciences, visit www.gbsciences.com.

About Gb Sciences and GbS Global Biopharma

Gb Sciences, Inc. is a plant-inspired, biopharmaceutical research and development company creating patented, disease-targeted formulations of cannabis- and other plant-inspired therapeutic mixtures for the prescription drug market through its Canadian subsidiary GbS Global Biopharma, Inc. The "plant-inspired" active ingredients in its therapeutic mixtures are synthetic homologues identical to the original plant compounds but produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices. Gb Sciences' intellectual property portfolio contains six issued U.S. and three issued foreign patents, as well as 17 U.S. and 51 foreign patent-pending applications. In its drug development pipeline, Gb Sciences has five preclinical phase product development programs. Gb Sciences' lead program for Parkinson's disease is being prepared for a first-in-human clinical trial. Gb Sciences' formulations for chronic pain, anxiety, and depression are currently in preclinical animal studies with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada. The company also received positive preclinical proof-of-concept data supporting its complex mixtures for the treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome, and its lead candidates will be optimized based on late-stage preclinical studies at Michigan State University. Gb Sciences' productive research and development network includes distinguished universities, hospitals, and Contract Research Organizations. To learn more, visit www.gbsciences.com. 

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