Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) has agreed a joint venture with cannabis firm CBDerma Technology Limited to develop a skin-friendly cannabidiol (CBD) formulation.
The joint venture will explore combining CBD with Futura’s DermaSys drug delivery system for the treatment of such symptoms as pain relief.
DermaSys provides targeted delivery of pharmaceutical ingredients through the skin.
Futura expects initial development costs of about US$1mln. But it said it does not see the project having any material impact on cashflow as its financial share of the project will be covered by existing resources.
"Futura's core strength lies in our research and development capabilities, particularly in the application of our proprietary Dermasys transdermal delivery system which enables targeted and controlled delivery of drugs through the skin,” said Futura chief executive James Barder.
“The benefits and applications of cannabis and cannabidiol in both the medical and consumer markets are well known and expanding rapidly.
“However, optimised and targeted topical delivery of the active ingredients remains a problem. We believe that our Dermasys technology has the potential to solve these issues, advancing product development and expanding indications and use of cannabidiol."
Futura shares were up 5% to 43.45p on Tuesday morning.
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