The alkaloid cytisine, found in high concentrations in kōwhai, is used as a treatment for nicotine addiction. A research project involving East Coast company Rua Bioscience is to be undertaken to develop smoking cessation products from cytisine. Photo / NZME
The alkaloid cytisine, found in high concentrations in kōwhai, is used as a treatment for nicotine addiction. A research project involving East Coast company Rua Bioscience is to be undertaken to develop smoking cessation products from cytisine. Photo / NZME
East Coast-based Rua Bioscience has gone back to its roots in announcing a new research partnership to develop “clinically-proven” smoking cessation products from a New Zealand plant species.
Cytisine, an alkaloid found in high concentrations in kōwhai, has been used for decades in Eastern Europe to help people quit smokingand was recently highlighted by New Zealand researchers as a safe, effective and affordable alternative to nicotine replacement therapy, Rua Bioscience said in a release.
“Flinders University professor Natalie Walker’s clinical studies undertaken during her tenure at Auckland School of Medicine, including trials with Māori participants, have shown cytisine to be more effective than standard therapies, with a compelling safety profile,” it said.
Cytisine has been recognised by Medsafe, New Zealand’s regulator of medicines and medical devices, as a treatment for nicotine addiction.
“It was recently added to the World Health Organisation list of essential medicines, meaning health providers in a large number of countries are likely to be looking for suppliers of quality, proven products.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-supported research programme reunites Rua Bioscience with its co-founder Manu Caddie.
Caddie runs the company IO Ltd, which is involved in several Māori community-driven ventures developing “novel” products from indigenous organisms.
Innovations are in the works from Rua Bioscience that could help people quit using cigarettes. Photo / NZME
The research project “will establish a Māori-governed, benefit-sharing model for sourcing and scaling production of cytisine, trialling plantation cultivation and completing laboratory extraction and purification through the bioprocessing team at Callaghan Innovation”.
Other workstreams will include prototype product development, regulatory pathway assessment and market and IP strategy.
“The programme may also explore innovative formulations to support smoking cessation and investigate other therapeutic applications including mood disorders, cognitive enhancement and alcohol addiction,” the release said.
Rua Bioscience chief executive Paul Naske said the project reflected Rua’s founding kaupapa.
“This is the next evolution of Māori-led bioinnovation – taking a naturally occurring compound with proven benefits, ensuring kaitiaki rights are upheld, and developing a world-class product that could improve health outcomes here and around the world.
“Investigating opportunities beyond cannabis has been in our DNA since Rua Bioscience was founded. The company actually started with ventures focused on kānuka and kina.
“We also invested early with IO Ltd on the wairuakohu-derived cannabinoids research announced earlier this year and Tū Wairua, a clinical trials programme for methamphetamine addiction using mushrooms containing psilocybin.”
Project co-lead Caddie said establishing a locally governed supply chain was critical.
“Patients around the world currently rely on products derived from one supplier of cytisine, yet our own indigenous species may be among the richest natural sources of the compound globally.
“This research aims to support Māori communities to lead development from the ground up – sustainable cultivation, extraction, formulation, IP and benefit-sharing – aligned with tikanga and Te Tiriti.”
The release said the 12-month project would “culminate in a regulatory and commercialisation pathway for New Zealand–made cytisine products, providing the foundation for future clinical trials and scaled manufacturing”.
