Cannabis Superior to Opioids for Back Pain
Findings from the successful trials of a new, multi-compound, cannabis medicine look set to deliver a major breakthrough for the world’s half-a-billion chronic low back pain (CLB) sufferers.
Just a few months ago, we reported on the success of German company Vertanical in passing through the arduous Randomised Control Test (RCT) procedure for its VER-01 drug.
With the results of the trials now in the public domain, it transpires that not only was VER-01 able to alleviate pain up to twice as effectively as opioids, it was also found to improve sleep, and patients did not experience one of the alternative’s downsides, namely, OIC (Opioid-Induced Constipation).
This positions VER-01 to become the first medical cannabis blockbuster drug, operating in a global annual market worth $3bn, and far outstripping Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex with annual sales of $100m.
The significance of this development cannot be underestimated. 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.
As such, it opens up a new and uncontroversial pathway for prescribing cannabis; one that even an ultra-conservative, prohibition-baked, medical profession cannot ignore.
‘Shift the paradigm’
The two RCT studies involved over 1,300 patients, with one of the two trials concluding: “This study provides robust evidence that VER-01 offers better tolerability, as well as superior pain relief and sleep quality compared to opioids in patients with CLBP.
“These findings highlight its potential as a promising new pharmacological option within a multimodal treatment approach that could fundamentally shift the paradigm in the treatment of chronic pain.”
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.”
“These results are particularly relevant given the substantial unmet medical need in CLBP, where many patients remain inadequately treated due to the inherent limitations of current pharmacological options, primarily NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) and opioids
This study involved 820 people and was conducted at 66 outpatient sites, and university-based hospitals, in Germany and Austria.
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.
60m suffer from opioid addiction
With Vertanical set to release VER-01 into the European market next year this could initiate a seismic shift in the pain-relief drug sector.
It is currently dominated by opioid-based treatments with a number of debilitating side effects, such as addiction and OIC.
More than 60m people worldwide are thought to struggle with opioid addiction or dependence, and over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen aren’t safe for long-term use.
Despite some 800,000 opioid-related deaths between 1999 and 2023, one in five US patients suffering from acute pain are still on these drugs due to a lack of alternatives.
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.
