Around four million Americans suffer from a condition that feels like deep stabbing into the tendons. Fibromyalgia is characterized as an intense throbbing that can strain ligaments through the entire body and can severely impact someone’s daily life.
Therapies can cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars per patient, but a biopharmaceutical leader in cannabinoid-based research and drug development is targeting a much cheaper, and hopefully more effective, means of treatment.
Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. (TSX:V.TBP, OTCQB: TBPMF, Forum) has developed a Health Canada approved, and FDA reviewed clinical program aimed at bringing its novel treatments to patients and their healthcare providers.
When bringing this cutting-edge drug to tackle a multi-billion-dollar market, only the best will do, so Tetra turned to the company hailed as the best vaporizer manufacturer in the world - Storz & Bickel, the German business behind the gold standard Volcano vaporizer, as well as the specialized portable herbal vaporizer known as the Mighty Medic. It was the Mighty Medic that caught Tetra’s attention and led both to enter a co-development agreement.
TBP will bring its PPP001 drug to the table, as well as a future proprietary cannabinoid formulation. Through this working agreement, Tetra can effectively bring PPP001 to patients who suffer from fibromyalgia, along with other chronic pain conditions, while significantly expanding the market potential for PPP001. As a prescription drug, PPP001 will be available in pharmacies and eligible for insurance coverage. The Company expects that combining PPP001 with the Mighty Medic would serve as an important economic benefit for patients.
The cannabinoid drug is currently being studied by Quebec-based Santé Cannabis, a contract research organization conducting TBP’s Health Canada approved Phase 3 clinical trial for advanced cancer pain. Tetra is planning to leverage the clinical data generated with the drug’s smokable formulation, intending to reduce the time needed to bring other formulations to market.
Effective treatments for Fibromyalgia remain elusive. A specialist in treating this condition, Dr. Gordon D. Ko stated in a
news release on this partnership that there is no “magic bullet” to treat this difficult condition … yet.
“As practitioners, we have the daunting task of moving our patients from unrelenting neuropathic pain to improved function and a better quality of life […] The clinical use of medical cannabis in the management of fibromyalgia suggests these patients obtain significant relief. Moreover, the potential to reduce opioid use for these patients is a foremost consideration of using the Mighty Medic to deliver the cannabinoids and terpenes contained in PPP001 by inhalation.”
Tetra is also partnering with Storz & Bickel to develop another proprietary inhalation cannabinoid-based prescription drug. Investors will want to keep their eye out for more information on this opportunity, which is expected in the near future. Tetra also recently announced that it submitted a clinical trial protocol to conduct a head to head trial to study PPP001 as an alternative to fentanyl in the management of breakthrough pain. Considering the growing societal impact of opioid use including the rising death rate, efforts to reduce reliance on opioids are significant.
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www.tetrabiopharma.com
FULL DISCLOSURE: Tetra Bio-Pharma Inc. is a paid client of Stockhouse Publishing.