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Axim Biotechnologies Inc (OTCMKTS:AXIM) Remains A Top Cannabis Pick

Axim Biotechnologies Inc (OTCMKTS:AXIM) Remains A Top Cannabis Pick
Written by
Chris Sandburg
Published on
January 20, 2017
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During the second week of January, we published this piece, highlighting the data that Axim Biotechnologies Inc (OTCMKTS:AXIM) management took to the stage at the JP Morgan healthcare conference to present. As noted at the time, the data wasn't particularly revealing outside of implications, but we hypothesized that its release was indicative of a very near-term trial initiation for the company's lead indication. Fast-forward 10 days, and Axim has just put out a press release vindicating our hypothesis.The company is actually down on the release, trading somewhere in the region of five percentage points below its midweek close, and more than 30% off its January highs. Over the last four days, however, Axim stock has looked as though it is bottoming out post-correction, and this latest release should serve to reinforce a support floor and – in turn – provide a nice entry opportunity ahead of some upside catalysts.What's the deal with the trial, what are the catalysts, and where we looking medium-term?Axim is a biotechnology company working to develop treatments that make use of cannabidiol. With the end-of-2016 recreational marijuana legalization ballot, a large number of companies picked up some strength heading into the close of the year. These weren't just limited to recreational companies, either. Pharmaceutical marijuana companies drew some collateral benefit, and this includes Axim. However, things have settled down a bit now, and markets are looking for those companies with some real potential in space.With its portfolio, Axim looks to be one such company.The company is developing a form of chewing gum that can be used to administer specific doses of CBD for patients with various conditions. The current industry standard administration method is smoking, but this is really difficult to track from a dosing perspective, and it is very unlikely that the FDA is ever going to approve a pharmaceutical grade drug that lists smoking as its primary dosing method. As such, those companies working on alternative methods, and in particular those who hold patents for these methods (as Axim does), have a real advantage near term. This one's patent relates to the above chewing gum administration method, and the branded product is called CanChew Plus.At J.P. Morgan, we learned that Axim had deduced that a 30 mg dose of this gum produced "excellent results" from a pharmacokinetic perspective, and that the company was looking to carry this does forward into a treatment for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).As per the latest announcement, Axim has kicked off his trial.The trial will include a group of 40 patients, age 18-65, diagnosed with IBS according to what's called ROME III criteria to determine the effectiveness of the drug in alleviating IBS symptoms. ROME III is an industry standard in this space, and it is basically a questionnaire used to determine the severity of the condition at baseline, and again after administration of the drug being investigated.There is no word yet on how long the trial is going to take, but ROME III works on a three-month timeframe, so we are looking at second quarter 2017 as a minimum target point for topline release.This release in itself is great news, but its longer-term implications are also positive. If the company can bring in some positive data related to IBS, it opens up the potential for similar trials in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These are all unmet needs, and potential blockbuster indications, and could provide considerable upside for Axim as the trials get underway and data rolls out.So what is next?We're looking for an announcement that the trial is enrolled, and – beyond that – data from the study that reinforces both the pharmacokinetic data already reported, and a suggestion of clinical benefit in this indication.Cash is not that strong here, reported at $870K as of September 30, 2016, so investors should bear in mind that they're probably going to be subject to some degree of dilution this year.We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on AXIM, sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in AXIM and have not been compensated for this article.

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