Canadian cannabinoid company MediPharm Labs Corp. has entered into a research support agreement with University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine on a dementia related study.
Nearly half of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia will receive hospice care at the end of their life. More than 70% of these patients will be prescribed psychiatric medications to address agitation issues. These medications often have their own problems, and cannabis derived formulations could be of benefit as an alternative or adjunct treatment.
Keck School of Medicine will be carrying out a study testing the the efficacy of an oral combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of agitation of dementia patients eligible for hospice care. The Phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study will recruit approximately 150 participants from 20 clinical trial sites in the USA over a two year period.
MediPharm Labs says it be will supplying the study with the cannabis medicine and placebo to be used, and other information and assistance as may be required.
“Dementia and related indications are hard to treat for patients and caregivers especially at the end-of-life stage,” said MediPharm Labs CEO David Pidduck. “It is our hope that the study will potentially provide a better therapeutic option than the current standard of care.”
In the Life’s End Benefits of Cannabidiol and Tetrahydrocannabinol (LiBBY) study, patients will be administered a total daily dose of 8 mg of THC and 400 mg of CBD dissolved in digestible oil. This formulation will be administered twice per day with a maximum of 4 mg of THC and 200 mg of CBD per dose.
Further information on the LiBBY study can be found on the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium web site.
In other recent news from Medipharm Labs, last month we reported the company signalled its intention to sell its Australian arm to Melbourne (Australia) based OneLife Botanicals. The decision was made after the company identified significant potential savings in moving all its domestic and international manufacturing to Medipharm Labs’ facility in Canada.