Emyria Ltd (ASX:EMD) has been accepted into the US National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain program.
The NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) — also the leading funder of neurological research in the US — will run the study as part of a broader initiative to stem the opioid public health crisis.
Launched in April 2018, the NIH HEAL initiative is focused on improving prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction, as well as enhancing pain management.
Essentially, the program will evaluate the suitability of Emyria’s proprietary ultra-pure cannabinoid formulations as alternative treatments for pain.
Evaluating unique, pharmaceutical-grade formulations
Emyria managing director Dr Michael Winlo said: “We’re delighted to be accepted into this prestigious program to comprehensively evaluate the suitability of our unique, pharmaceutical-grade formulations to address major unmet needs in pain.
“Our compelling Real World Data has demonstrated that cannabinoids may be useful amongst sufferers of chronic, non-cancer pain and we saw a need to develop reliable, ultra-pure dose forms, suitable for registration with major regulators.”
How does care model reduce opioid use?
Emyria recently charted the oral morphine equivalent daily dose (oMEDD) for a 220-patient cohort of high opioid users at its Emerald Clinics.
oMEDD scores were calculated by examining linked community pharmacy dispensing data from NostraData/IQVIA in the 12 months before and after starting care at Emerald Clinics.
The analysis reveals that these patients had a stable oMEDD scores in the 12 months prior to treatment but experienced a significant average reduction of 30% in their daily oMEDD scores.