Joe Issa - FDA Approval Defining Moment for Brand Jamaica Today.

Today ushers a new era for brand Jamaica with the announcement that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a Jamaican cancer-treatment drug developed from ganja, says the founder of Cool Corporation Joe Issa in an interview.

 

Dr Henry Lowe

Issa, who supported founder Dr Henry Lowe and the movement for a pharmaceutical ganja industry to be established in Jamaica, and backed the associated legislation, join the many well-wishers and the business community who are already calling for more exploits in others areas of ganja medicine.

“It is a breakthrough for Dr Lowe and brand Jamaica, which is so linked to its music, culture and products that are distinctly local such as cancer and other drugs created from ganja.

“To have any drug approved by the FDA is a great feat, and it takes added significance if it is a cancer drug, as every year thousands of Jamaicans and hundreds of millions from all over the world continue to die of cancer.

“But when you get approval for a cancer drug developed from ganja, with the best raw material abounds in Jamaica, it gives the event new dimension, making it a defining moment in the quest to exploit the medicinal potential of the plant and enhance brand Jamaica,” Issa argues.

Urging maximum monetisation for Jamaica Issa, who has many licenced brands, suggests immediate and tight protection for the latest ganja-drug discovery, which he says can attract huge investments.

The drug that made the breakthrough – after much research in the potential of ganja’s medicinal value is Chrysoeriol, which has been granted orphan-drug approval by the FDA.

It is said that Chrysoeriol can treat what is referred as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) present in patients who are harbouring the FLT3 mutation. FLT3 is one of the most commonly mutated genes in AML patients. FLT3 mutations are found in some 30% of patients’ leukaemia cells, according to a Gleaner article.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica’, Economic and Social Survey, said recently, that the unconditional probability of Jamaicans dying from cancer between ages 30 and 64 had increased by 100 percent, from 7% in 2010 to 14.7% in 2013, and that 3,621 Jamaicans died of cancer in 2015. It also said breast and cervical cancer were the most common cause of death in women cancer patients, and for men, it is prostate cancer.

“More research into other cancer-treatment drugs made from ganja and other local plants now looks more attractive as a business venture, if not for charity; either way it will save lives and further boost brand Jamaica,” said Issa, who is also a philanthropist with at least three charities to his name.