ART27-13

ART27-13 is a benzimidazole-derived synthetic cannabinoid designed to activate the CB1 and CB2 receptors while remaining largely outside the central nervous system ^[1]. Its intended selectivity for peripheral tissues is meant to capture cannabinoid effects on appetite and metabolism while limiting the psychoactive, brain-mediated effects associated with cannabis-type compounds ^[1]. The molecule was first created at AstraZeneca under the code AZD1940 and later acquired and advanced by Artelo Biosciences under the name ART27.13 ^[1][2].

In its original development, AZD1940 was tested as an analgesic. A randomized, placebo-controlled study in healthy volunteers using a capsaicin-induced pain model found no significant reduction in pain or hyperalgesia, although mild dose-dependent central nervous system effects, such as feeling high or sedated, together with gastrointestinal side effects, indicated that active exposures had been reached ^[1]. A later systematic review similarly noted that the compound failed to produce significant analgesia after surgical third molar removal ^[4]. These results steered the compound away from pain and toward other indications ^[1][4].

Under Artelo, ART27.13 has been repositioned for cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome, where stimulating appetite and preserving lean mass are the goals ^[2]. In a laboratory model of cancer cachexia using human skeletal muscle myotubes, ART27.13 protected the myotubes from degeneration, an effect blocked by a CB2 antagonist but not a CB1 antagonist, pointing to CB2 receptors as the relevant target for its muscle-sparing action ^[2]. Pharmacological profiling of clinically tested cannabinoid agonists has characterized ART-27.13 as a fast-acting CB2 superagonist ^[3]. The compound has progressed into clinical trials for cancer-related anorexia and weight loss and remains investigational, not approved for any use and not a dietary supplement ^[2].

ART27-13 is an investigational peripherally-restricted CB1/CB2 cannabinoid agonist studied for cancer anorexia-cachexia, so its safety data are limited to early-phase trials rather than long-term use. In the Phase 2 CAReS study it was generally well tolerated, with most treatment-related adverse events being mild or moderate and no new safety signals beyond those seen in Phase 1. Roughly 22% of enrolled patients experienced drug-associated adverse events, including one report of severe malaise attributed to treatment. Its peripheral selectivity is designed to limit the central nervous system effects typical of cannabinoids, though this profile has only been characterized in small, short-duration cohorts. As an unapproved agent, its full risk profile, drug interactions, and long-term safety remain undefined.

ART27.13 is a peripherally restricted, high-potency synthetic cannabinoid CB1/CB2 receptor agonist that was originally synthesized at AstraZeneca, where it carried the codename AZD1940; it was later designated NEO1940 under the Canadian NEOMED Institute (renamed adMare in 2019). AstraZeneca had explored the molecule for pain, taking advantage of its poor CNS penetration to limit central cannabinoid side effects.

Artelo Biosciences licensed the compound and repositioned it toward cancer-related anorexia, exploiting the appetite-stimulating property of peripheral CB1 activation, dosing its first patient in the Phase 1b/2a CAReS study of cancer-related anorexia cachexia syndrome in April 2021. Artelo has since reported nonclinical activity in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and has framed ART27.13 as a possible companion therapy to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. It remains in clinical development and is not approved.