Asian fund acquires stake in Lowe’s drug company Flavocure

Denning Growth Fund, based in Asia, has pumped US$1.5 million into Flavocure Biotech Inc for an undisclosed equity stake in the company founded by Jamaican businessman and scientist Dr Henry Lowe.

The investment will allow the company to fund research and assist in taking its various drugs to market.

“This was a nice birthday present but the investment is not for me but will propel the investment in drug development at the company,” said Lowe, executive chairman of Flavocure. The deal closed a day prior to his birthday, he said. His birthday was on April 5.

“They are getting equity in the company,” he said.

Flavocure is a research lab based in the United States. It has seven shareholders, with Lowe and his Eden Garden Group of Companies as the primary owners.

Denning Growth Fund is attracted to Flavocure because of the advancements on its pancreatic cancer drug developed from compounds found in cannabis.

“This is from cannabis and it is important to note that while there are 500 different molecules in ganja, we have found a unique compound that can address pancreatic cancer,” he said.

Earlier this year, Flavocure announced that it has initiated investigational new drug, or IND enabling studies for its cannabis derived drug, FBL-03G. The studies will provide the company with the requisite data to go after IND approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, as one of the steps towards eventual commercialisation of the drug.

Lowe says he expects the process to be completed this year, following which the company will undertake phase one clinical trials initially targeting pancreatic cancer.

“The potential efficacy of Flavocure’s drug has been validated in a large cohort study completed by Harvard University Medical School. The collaboration has successfully demonstrated the ‘immunoadjuvant’ activity of our drug, one of the most desirable characteristics for pharmaceutical adoption in cancer therapy today,” said Lowe in a release about the investment.

The drug FBL-03G has also shown promise for glioblastoma multiforme, also known as ‘GBM’. Once the drug has attained IND status, Flavocure intends to initiate phase one studies in patients diagnosed with this deadly form of brain cancer.

Flavocure’s executive vice-chairman, Clark Swanson, added that the investment was a testament to the company’s milestone achievements and its ongoing collaboration with Harvard University.

“Our drug achievements have demonstrated consistent progress towards an addressable market that exceeds US$4 billion. The demand is only underscored by the few options that pancreatic cancer patients have today and their poor prognosis,” Swanson said.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com