Incannex Healthcare Ltd (ASX:IHL, NASDAQ:IXHL) has filed a provisional patent application for additional protection of the company’s IHL-42X clinical program, specifically covering the use of IHL-42X for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).
The company intends to continue to expand its patent protection for the program as part of its broad patent strategy, securing intellectual property (IP) rights for the development, manufacture and use of the company’s drug candidates.
“Incannex works closely with its patent attorneys to build upon its competitive position through the ongoing development of intellectual property assets,” Incannex Healthcare CEO and managing director Joel Latham said.
“Our intention is to build patent families around our drug candidates as we learn more about them through our research and development programs undertaken by our dedicated scientific teams.”
IHL-42X as a treatment for OSA
IHL-42X was designed to combine two drugs, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC or dronabinol) and acetazolamide.
Acetazolamide induces metabolic acidosis, raises the drive to breathe and reduces the sensitivity of the body system that controls breathing, which helps to reduce the incidence and severity of apnoeas and hypopnoeas.
Dronabinol is believed to activate muscles in the upper airway during sleep, thereby reducing the incidence of airway collapse.
Incannex previously discovered that the two drugs act synergistically to reduce the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) in patients with OSA, and engaged OSA expert Dr Brad Edwards, associate professor of Physiology at Monash University, to further assess the data from the company’s Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial that investigated the effect of IHL-42X on OSA.
IHL-42X was shown to be most effective at low doses, showing a statistically significant improvement in airway collapsibility without affecting the patient's ability to stay asleep.
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