LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwired – Mar 30, 2017) – Vitality Biopharma, Inc. (OTCQB: VBIO) (“Vitality” or the “Company”), a corporation dedicated to the development of cannabinoid prodrug pharmaceuticals and to unlocking the power of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders, today announced that it has positive results indicating a new use for the Company’s proprietary prodrug cannabinoid delivery platform.

Multiple colon cancer cell types were screened, each with unique combinations of genetic mutations that drive cancerous growth, and including a cell line known to express drug-resistance genes such as PD-L1. The Company found that cannabidiol (CBD) universally inhibited cell growth at concentrations similar to established chemotherapeutics. Vitality also found that its cannabidiol prodrug was not toxic to the human cells at the concentrations tested, demonstrating the relative safety of its prodrug delivery system.

In the United States in 2017, the American Cancer Society estimates that 50,260 deaths will occur due to colorectal cancer, making it the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related death for women, and the 2nd leading cause of cancer-related death for men. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer for both men and women is between 4-5%, or nearly 1 in 20. The most common type of colorectal cancer is adenocarcinoma ( > 95% of all cases), which arise from epithelial cells that line the colon and rectum. There are a number of predisposing risk factors for colorectal cancer, including the presence of inflammatory bowel disease.

“Our studies show that CBD inhibits colon cancer cell line growth at concentrations that are similar to those used by conventional chemotherapeutics, and at levels that we expect can be delivered using our prodrug delivery technology,” said Dr. Brandon Zipp, Director of R&D for Vitality. Robert Brooke, CEO of Vitality, adds that, “This finding means our proprietary cannabosides could be quite useful for treatment or prevention of colorectal cancer, even with hard-to-treat cancers, and without the systemic toxicity of DNA-damaging chemotherapies.”

About Vitality Biopharma (OTCQB: VBIO)
Vitality Biopharma is dedicated to unlocking the power of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders. For more information, visit: www.vitality.bio. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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