Zynerba Pharmaceuticals stock soars on receiving US patent for its CBD gel to treat Fragile X syndrome

Cannabinoid therapeutics developer Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE) received US patent named “Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome with Cannabidiol”. Shares of Zynerba soared 15% in the pre-market trading hours on Tuesday.

This new patent, which expires in 2038, is part of an expanding intellectual property portfolio covering the company’s cannabidiol (CBD) product candidate, ZYN002 Transdermal CBD gel.

Zynbera is enrolling FXS patients in the US, Australia and New Zealand for CONNECT-FX study that will evaluate its CBD gel ZYN002. The Devon, Philadelphia-based pharma company expects to report top-line data in the second half of 2019.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic disorder that affects both males and females. As of now, there is no cure for FXS, which causes intellectual disability, behavioral and learning challenges, and developmental delays in children.

About 71,000 US patients are believed to have FXS, based on FXS prevalence estimates of approximately 1 in 3,600 to 4,000 in males and of approximately 1 in 4,000 to 6,000 in females.

The company also expects to announce top-line data results from the other three childhood neuropsychiatric studies in the next two years (one in the third quarter of 2019 and two in the first half of 2020).

Zynerba stock, which ended Monday’s trading session down 1.56% at $5.04, had jumped 70% since the beginning of 2019.

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