The findings from successful trials on a multi-compound cannabis medicine are expected to provide a breakthrough for half a billion chronic back pain sufferers around the globe.
Only a few weeks ago we published a report on Vertanical’s success in completing the arduous Randomised Control Test test (RCT) for the VER-01 medication.
The results of these trials are now public. Not only did VER-01 relieve pain for up to Two-fold Effectively as possible The opioids also improved the sleep of patients, who did not suffer from OIC.
This will allow VER-01, which is currently a blockbuster medical cannabis drug in the US, to be the first one. It operates on a $3bn global market, with sales exceeding Jazz Pharmaceuticals Epidiolex, which has an annual revenue of $100m.
It is important to note that this new development has a significant impact. VER-01, to be marketed as Exilby, delivers a whole-plant, stable, consistent and repeatable medicine, based on proven science, in a way existing ‘flower’ prescriptions cannot.
It opens up an entirely new, non-controversial way to prescribe cannabis, one that is so uncontroversial, even the most conservative, pro-prohibition-minded medical professionals cannot ignore it.
‘Shift the paradigm’
Over 1,300 people were involved in the RCTs. The results of one trial concluded that VER-01 is superior to opioids when it comes to pain relief, sleep quality, and tolerability.
These findings show its promise as a new promising pharmacological treatment option in a multimodal approach to chronic pain treatment that can fundamentally change the paradigm.
The other study reached similar conclusions: “These results are of high clinical relevance, as substantiated by a significantly higher proportion of participants randomised to VER-01 achieving well-recognised thresholds of meaningful pain relief, including a ≥30% and ≥50% pain reduction.”
The results of this study are important because there is a large unmet need for CLBP patients. They remain undertreated due to current pharmacological limitations, primarily NSAIDs.
In Germany and Austria, this study included 820 individuals and took place at 66 hospital outpatient clinics, as well as university-based hospitals.
Whilst the former – known as the ELEVATE study – consisted of 384 people at 41 outpatient sites and hospitals in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain.
Over 60 million people suffer from opioid dependence
Vertanical is set to launch VER-01 in Europe next year, which could lead to a major shift within the sector of pain relief drugs.
It’s dominated today by opioid-based therapies with debilitating effects like addiction and OIC.
Over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen, which are used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation, are not safe for prolonged use.
One in five US pain patients still takes opioids due to the lack of alternative options.
The studies highlight how VER-01 is particularly effective in easing neuropathic pain – chronic pain from nerve damage or disease – whilst concluding there was no evidence of patients suffering from withdrawal systems after the trial’s conclusion.