Following a rising collection of evidence relating to the potential of cannabis in preventing COVID-19 infection and its ability to treat related symptoms, an Australian medical cannabis company is now looking to test its effects on ‘long Covid’.
It is estimated that around 1.3 million people in the UK are experiencing extended effects following COVID-19 infection. Bod Australia (ASX:BOD) is proposing to conduct a clinical trial in the UK to determine the efficacy of its product on long Covid.
The company announced today that it has received Clinical Trial Authorisation by the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which will allow it to carry out an assessment of its MediCabilis 5% CBD product. This latest approval follows the final protocol design and ethics approval, allowing for Bod Australia to immediately commence the participant recruitment process.
Under the design protocol, the study will recruit 30 participants who are suffering from long Covid. Participants will be administered a daily dose of Bod’s MediCabilis 5% CBD product over a six month study period.
Long Covid refers to a condition where symptoms of COVID-19 infection continue for more than eight weeks. There is currently no leading treatment for the condition.
According to reports, symptoms of long Covid can include shortness of breath, fatigue, worsening chest discomfort, chronic pain, loss of concentration, anxiety, and insomnia. There is evidence that a number of these symptoms may benefit from medical cannabis treatment.
Bod Australia’s CEO, Jo Patterson, said: “While there aren’t any existing treatments for long-COVID, our medicinal cannabis products have been used to treat and alleviate a number of similar conditions.
“We anticipate that this clinical trial will provide us with great insight into its potential to treat long-COVID and build on the body of evidence for the use of cannabis-based medicines, in place of other pharmaceuticals.
“We will utilise the data generated to gain a better understanding of whether MediCabilis can be used as a potential treatment and how we can expedite further product commercialisation, which will underpin ongoing sales growth.”
Another recent study found that two cannabis derivatives – CBGA and CBDA – are able to bind to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) which may prevent human infection.
