Tetra Bio-Pharma is a leader in the cannabis biopharmaceutical space: Paradigm

A high need for safe and effective pain drugs in the wake of the opioid crisis shows the potential value in Tetra Bio-Pharma’s (Tetra Bio-Pharma Stock Quote, Chart TSXV:TBP) cannabinoid drug candidate, CAUMZ.

That’s according to analyst Rahul Sarugaser of Paradigm Capital, who in a Thursday research note to clients maintained his “Buy” recommendation and $1.75 target price, which represented a projected 12-month return of 165 per cent at the time of publication.

Last week, pharma giants Eli Lilly and Pfizer released results from a Phase 3 clinical trial on pain drug tanezumab, which in one arm failed to show outcomes better than placebo and an incidence of the safety endpoint of 7.1 per cent, higher than the 1.5-per-cent in the control group.

Sarugaser says considering the results, the drug should have failed its trial long ago and the fact that it is nonetheless being considered for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration is a telling sign that the current opioid crisis has allowed for drastic measures.

“Pfizer and Lilly released mixed results from their Phase 3 trial of tanezumab for treatment of patients experiencing pain associated with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis of the hip or knee and in patients with chronic low back pain, yet, is still being considered for approval by the FDA. In our view, this drug would have failed long ago in the absence of today’s opioid epidemic, demonstrating the intense need for safe, effective pain drugs, like those TBP is developing,” says Sarugaser.

“We contrast this with TBP, which now has its Phase 3 trial of CAUMZ—a defined formulation of cannabinoids—registered with the FDA for treatment of advanced cancer pain. Assuming CAUMZ meets its efficacy and safety endpoints—which we are confident it should, given a long history of anecdotal safety among cannabinoids and the trial’s achievable quality-of-life endpoints (high unmet need)—the drug could also be used off-label for a variety of other pain indications, including osteoarthritic and chronic low back pain, obviating the need for the FDA to take a more lenient stance on PFE/LLY’s tanezumab,” he writes.

Sarugaser says TBP’s industry-leading research and deep knowledge of global regulatory structures are key drives putting the company at the vanguard of the cannabis biopharmaceutical space.