Toronto, Canada--Khiron Life Sciences Corp. has published in the international peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Pain Research the results of its first clinical study on the use of medical cannabis prescribed to Colombian patients in treating chronic pain.
According to the press release, this is the largest study of its kind in Latin America, and the first published clinical evidence on the effectiveness and safety of Khiron's THC and CBD oil-based cannabis formulations, the two most prescribed products at Khiron's Zerenia Clinics in Colombia. This is reassuring data for prescribing physicians and health insurance providers on the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of the Khiron's products to treat chronic pain. Frontiers journals rank among the most influential in their academic fields based on total citations and ranks as the 3rd most-cited publisher among the 20 largest publishers.
The study, a joint effort by medical researchers from Khiron Life Sciences and doctors from Zerenia Clinics in Colombia and Europe, captures patient-reported outcome measures ("PROMS") and adverse effects in a large cohort of 2112 adult patients diagnosed with chronic pain of diverse etiology. Between May and September 2021, patients received adjuvant treatment with Khiron's oral oil-based cannabis formulations at the Latin American Institute of Neurology and Nervous System (ILANS-Zerenia) in Bogotá, Colombia.
"This study, based on Khiron's medical products, is critical to reassure physicians and health insurance providers of the efficacy of medicinal cannabis to treat chronic pain," said Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and Director in the press release. "The global impact and economic burden of chronic pain in our society, mounting medical evidence will increase access to cannabinoid-based medicines worldwide." "The recent vote in the US House of Representatives promoting medical research on cannabis clearly shows the pressing need to develop effective and safe cannabis-based medication for suffering patients worldwide. With this and upcoming studies, Khiron will continue to stand above in the field of medical research and to expand the access for patients in those jurisdictions in which we are present".
Guillermo Moreno-Sanz, the first author of the study and Global Scientific Director of Khiron Life Sciences added in the release , "We believe these findings to be generalizable across patient populations, considering that our results are extremely well-aligned with those reported by researchers working with similar clinical populations in nations with long-standing medicinal cannabis access programs, such as Israel and Canada."
This study is groundbreaking for Khiron as most observational and experimental studies investigating the efficacy of medical cannabis for pain management are of relatively short duration and use a disparity of cannabinoid-based products, routes of administration, and dosing regimens. This study is differentiated as it describes the short-, mid- and long-term efficacy and safety of two monovarietal formulations containing THC and CBD in different ratios (1:1 and 1:25, respectively), and investigates the contribution of patient's sex, and age. Most participants were female (76.1%) with an average age of 58.7 years old. One third of the participants were elderly (>65 years old).
As Khiron continues to expand its research and business globally through Latin America and Europe, additional studies are expected to continue to demonstrate the Company's business model, creating a comprehensive solution for health care providers, insurance companies, and patients to benefit from the prescription and positive health outcomes from medical cannabis.