citybiz+ RS Biotherapeutics Raises $3 Million to Fund Cannabis Therapies for Lung Diseases

RS BioTherapeutics, a Cumberland, Md., startup developing cannabis therapies for diseases caused by inflammation of the lungs, has raised $3 million in a second round of seed funding.

Founded by the trio of Bill Freas, Dustin Freas and Justin Molignoni, RS BioTherapeutics is a subsidiary of Real Science Holdco LLC. Bill Freas helms CareVentures, a healthcare firm in Cumberland, where Dustin serves as chief development officer. In June, RS BioTherapeutics raised $685,000 in a previous seed round.

“Closing this round of funding…will help accelerate the growth of the company,” said Molignoni, the company’s chief strategy officer. “These funds will not only support our growing organization but also our development of RSBT-001” for an investigational new drug submission, he added.

Study Shows Promise

The company’s first product under development is RSBT-001, a nebulized, semi-synthetic, cannabidiolic acid complex. RSBT-001 aims to halt the exacerbation and progression of both acute and chronic pulmonary inflammation related to respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, SARS-COV-2 including Covid-19, cystic fibrosis, asthma, bronchitis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

A proof-of-concept study — conducted by RS BioTherapeutics’ development partner Synthonics, of Blacksburg, Va., and West Virginia’s Marshall University — indicated that RSBT-001 reduces cytokine level. “This supports the theory that RSBT-001 can reduce the harmful effects of an overstimulated immune system,” said Molignoni. Marshall is due to conduct a second study to further evaluate the impact of RSBT-001 on pulmonary inflammation.

Synthionics, cofounded by Thomas Piccariello, Ph.D., is a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company that identifies and develops patentable drugs. Piccariello serves as its president and chief science officer. He is also the co-chair of the RS BioTherapeutics Joint Development Committee.

Cultivating Cannabis

In August, RS BioTherapeutics announced a plan to create a biotherapeutics cultivation and manufacturing site in the Cumberland area, and named Jeremy Plumb as its chief cultivation officer. Plumb was previously the director of production science at Groundworks Industries, an Oregon cannabis company, and its portfolio brand, Pruf Cultivar, which specializes in controlled environment agriculture. Plumb also has served as a cannabis policy advisor to members of the U.S. Congress.

RS BioTherapeutics is led by CEO Dean Hart, who has over three decades of biopharmaceutical experience, with stints in Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Adamas Pharmaceuticals. He is credited with building two multibillion-dollar brands. Hart has an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Business Management and Administration from the Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business.

Molignoni entered medicine as a registered nurse and then qualified as a nurse practitioner in critical care and emergency medicine, with secondary focus on primary care and nephrology. His research has been presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

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Dustin Freas has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including more than five years in medical cannabis. He is one of the founders of Grow West MD, a family-owned medical cannabis cultivation facility and dispensary in Cumberland. Since 2017, he also serves as the CEO of Good Harvest Investments, an equity group focused on cannabis startups.