Australian firm to launch clinical trial in UK on efficacy of cannabis to cure long COVID

The UK has approved Australia’s medicinal cannabis company Bod Australia’s clinical trial into the efficacy of its products to treat the effects of long-COVID-19.  According to Business News Australia report, Bod announced that it received Clinical Trial Austgorisation by UK’s UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency which would allow the company to commence a clinical trial into the effectiveness of its ‘MediCabilis’ 5% CBD product on long-COVID-19. 

The latest UK nod came after the final protocol design and ethics approval which means that the company can immediately commence the participant recruitment process. The study will see at least 30 participants recruited after suffering from long COVID-19. It is to note that long-COVID-19 is a condition without a leading treatment where symptoms of initial infection of Coronavirus continues for more than eight weeks. 

As per the report, the participants in the trial will be administered daily doses of Bod’s medicinal cannabis product called MediCabilis 5% over a six month period. This would allow the Australian company to capture the efficacy data and it also provides a pathway towards the commercialisation of a potential treatment product that would be sold throughout Britain and other nations. 

As per the report, Bod said, “There is a wide range of long COVID indications, including shortness of breath, fatigue, worsening chest discomfort, loss of concentration, chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia…Many of these symptoms may be amenable to treatment with cannabis-based medicinal products, highlighting a significant opportunity for Bod.”

COVID-19 can be prevented and treated by cannabis compounds

Bod’s announcement came after a report published this week by researchers associated with Oregon State University has claimed that compounds in cannabis (marijuana) can prevent infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 by inhibiting its entry into cells. The study's findings were published online on Monday in the Journal of Natural Products under the title "Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants."

The researchers discovered that cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA, two cannabinoid acids often present in hemp varietals of cannabis, can bind to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The molecules bind to the spike protein, preventing the virus from entering cells and causing infection, potentially opening up new paths for disease prevention and treatment, the study claimed.

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