Innovative Cannabis Ready-To-Use Drug: World’s Largest Registration Trial By German Company Vertanical Has Started
- Biopharmaceutical company Vertanical from Bavaria is testing an innovative finished drug based on a unique cannabis extract in the final clinical phase
- Goal: Establishing an effective painkiller for millions of patients with chronic back pain
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from some type of back pain, including in Europe where an estimated 25 million people suffer from chronic lower back pain.
Chronic lower back pain is one of the most common reasons why adults visit the doctor and is responsible for a significant amount of lost productivity across the globe.
For instance, back pain is the second most common cause of sick leave and incapacity for work in Germany, second only to respiratory infections. Unfortunately, the problem is only getting worse with numbers rising year after year.
The causes of lower back pain are numerous, which makes prevention efforts very difficult. It’s estimated that as many as 80% of adults worldwide will develop back pain at some point in their lives, many instances of which result in several doctor visits prior to the patient receiving a sufficient diagnosis.
Current Treatments Are Problematic
When it comes to treating chronic lower back pain, doctors currently do not have that many options. Some people go the route of doing physical therapy, which can help mitigate future pain yet typically doesn’t provide any immediate relief.
The most common medical treatment for chronic lower back pain is opioid painkillers, which do provide immediate relief, however, that relief often comes with additional issues for many patients.
Common side effects for opioids include (but are not limited to):
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Respiratory Depression
Any one of those side effects are undesirable on their own, but all of them pale in comparison to the most problematic opioid side effect of them all – dependency.
It’s no secret that opioids are very addictive and that opioid addiction is a major public health issue. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 115,000 people died in 2017 from opioids.
New Therapy Option Will Revolutionize Back Pain Treatment
Opioids and cannabis have been the subject of a number of studies, however, most of them are very general and don’t necessarily focus on one type of condition and how certain terpenes interact with those conditions.
To say that ‘cannabis helps pain’ is much different from ‘this specific dose of this specific cannabis medicine has been proven to help this specific condition, as backed up by scientific data.’ With that in mind, the results of a new study are going to be very significant for patients that suffer from chronic lower back pain.
A Munich-based biopharmaceutical company named Vertanical started the last clinical phase this month for a study that focuses on chronic lower back pain and a very specific terpene profile. The study involves 800 patients in approximately 100 qualified and renowned medical pain centers in Germany and Austria and is the largest, most comprehensive double-blind, placebo-controlled study of its kind. Some study participants will receive a placebo while others receive a specially designed medical cannabis product created by Vertanical.
Vertanical conducted extensive research with 500 different genetic types to develop a medicinal therapeutic product based on cannabis extracts with a terpene profile designed to successfully treat chronic low back pain and other chronic pain. The product and study’s creators seek to replace opioids with a much safer, effective, proven medicine.
“With the results of this study and the goal of approval as a finished medicinal product, we want to show the positive dimensions of effect that this unique cannabis-based medicine has for people with this condition. We want to establish a painkiller that is a potent and tolerable alternative to treatment with opioids,” says Dr. med. Clemens Fischer, founder of Vertanical, explaining the therapeutic goals.
Learn More About Vertanical At Our Upcoming Event In Berlin
Dr. med. Clemens Fischer, founder of Vertanical, will be presenting on this very topic at our upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference event in Berlin, which is taking place August 26-27.
Vertanical maintains one of the world’s most modern research facilities and plantations for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis in Denmark. Years of intensive and highly invested research have led to the development of a unique medicine that is expected to replace opioid analgesics worldwide in the future.
The company advises doctors and pharmacists on questions about cannabis therapy; in-depth knowledge is imparted in seminars in Germany and Denmark. The phase III study on the use of a cannabis extract for chronic low back pain heralds another chapter in the company’s history.
In the meantime, find out more about Vertanical via their website, and make sure to grab your tickets to see their team and many other industry-leading professionals and policy makers in Berlin in August!