Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

ResolutionRx is developing dronabinol for the treatment of OSA, a sleep-related breathing disorder that afflicts an estimated 90 million people in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. OSA involves a decrease or complete halt in airflow despite an ongoing effort to breathe during sleep. When the muscles relax during sleep, soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and obstructs the upper airway. OSA remains significantly under-recognized, as only 20% of cases in the United States and globally have been properly diagnosed. About 24 percent of adult men and 9 percent of adult women are believed to have the breathing symptoms of OSA with or without daytime sleepiness. OSA significantly impacts the lives of sufferers who do not get enough sleep; their quality of sleep is deteriorated such that daily function is compromised and limited. OSA is associated with decreased quality of life, significant functional impairment, and increased risk of road traffic accidents, especially in professions like road and rail transportation and shipping.

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Research has established links between OSA and several important co-morbidities, including hypertension, type II diabetes, obesity, stroke, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and even early mortality. The consequences of undiagnosed and untreated OSA are medically serious and economically costly. According to the American Association of Sleep Medicine, the estimated economic burden of OSA in the United States is approximately $162 billion annually. All current treatment options have serious drawbacks. We believe that a new drug therapy that is effective in reducing the medical and economic burden of OSA would have major benefits for the treatment of this costly disease indication.