Incannex Healthcare Ltd., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing medicinal cannabinoid and psychedelic therapies for unmet medical needs, has engaged multinational contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Eurofins Scientific to manufacture Incannex’s two distinct medicated chewable products designed to treat nicotine and opioid addiction disorders.
 
The CannQuit products are combination drug assets that were transferred to Incannex as a result of the acquisition of APIRx Pharmaceuticals, completed in August of 2022. Eurofins will provide formulation development and manufacture of CannQuit Nicotine (CannQuit-N) and CannQuit Opioid (CannQuit-O).
 
CannQuit-N combines nicotine and cannabidiol (CBD) within a controlled-release, functional, medicated chewing gum. CannQuit-O combines CBD and an off-patent prescription opioid antagonist, and/or partial agonist-antagonist within the formulation. The cGMP grade products manufactured by Eurofins will be used in clinical trials designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the CannQuit products for smoking cessation and the treatment of opioid addiction.
 
Data collected on the quality and stability of the CannQuit anti-addiction products during the development and manufacturing of the two drug candidates at Eurofins will be key components of future regulatory packages. These data packages include investigational new drug (IND) applications and new drug application (NDA) filings with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
 
Medicated chewing gums deliver their active ingredients directly into the circulation of the oral mucosa, ensuring that the effects of the ingredients are delivered rapidly, but also in a sustained manner to reduce cravings for longer than other delivery methods. 
 
Dr. Mark Bleackley, chief scientific officer of Incannex, said, “Opioid and nicotine addiction are significant health problems and a major burden on health systems throughout the world. CannQuit products are designed to improve established therapies for the treatment of addiction. They do this by adding CBD, which is known to reduce cravings and anxiety which is critical for breaking the addiction cycle.”
 
“In the case of CannQuit-O, we add CBD and the act of chewing to a well-established opioid antagonist and/ or agonist/ antagonist therapy. Both CBD and the act of chewing, are conducive to stress and anxiety reduction”.
 
“We believe that the synergies between the pharmaceutical ingredients and the form of the product, as a sustained chewable, gives CannQuit strong potential to improve treatment outcomes for people who are addicted to nicotine and opioids. These theorized enhancements to existing treatment options make us excited to test our hypotheses in clinical trials once the products have been manufactured by Eurofins.”