Was being a bit nosy and decided to check out the website of Algorithme Pharma, the same company that ran Phase I trials for Tetra. Stumbled upon this vague, yet not so vague recruitment page for a drug trial that "could eventually be part of the solution to the opioid epidemic". Check it out for yourselves:
https://participants.algopharm.com/en/landing/drugusers Is it possible that Tetra is also preparing to run a separate study to make clear the effects that RxPrinceps has on lowering opioid dependance? It's not secret that's a direction Tetra has flirted with if you have toiled through press releases like I have. This is from a press release dated June 7, 2017.
"The development of PPP001 for patients with advanced cancer is an important commitment for Tetra. Cancer patients suffer from severe pain which is often accompanied by depression and insomnia. Medical marijuana has been shown to help patients beyond the immediate benefit of pain relief. With the expertise of Sante Cannabis, we expect to demonstrate the clinical benefits of PPP001 on the quality of life of advanced cancer patients.
Importantly, our clinical program will also address the potential of PPP001 to reduce the reliance on opioids for management of severe pain. The Company will continue to maintain a transparent and direct line of communication with Health Canada (Therapeutic Products Directorate and Controlled Drug Substances) and the U.S. FDA to ensure that we address the issues required for drug approval. PPP001 is about patients first," commented Dr. Chamberland CSO of Tetra Bio-Pharma.
Of course, keep in mind this is all speculation on my part but I've got a good chunk invested in Tetra and I've done some extensive DD. For a product to have legitimate data that shows the ability to decrease opioid dependence while also effectively managing pain is an absolute home run in the medical side of things (remember, TBP is working closely with Health Canada on all trials). Only 3% of doctors currently prescribe medical cannabis.
Only 3%! And a lack of data to support the effectiveness of medical cannabis, combined with the typical side effects has proven to be a big deterrent. TBP has shown with Phase I that they are able to mitigate side effects with their dosage/titration method. This appears to be a study on recreational opioid users, so presumably the goal is to expose these rec users to a "new drug" that will ultimately decrease their dependence on opioids. Here is a paragraph from something Leafrider posted a few days ago. This is the discussion from an extensive lit review on the medical benefits of cannabis.
Discussion: "Preclinical studies demonstrate a narrow therapeutic window for cannabis as pharmacotherapy for pain; the body of clinical evidence for this indication is not as extensive. A recent meta-analysis of clinical trials of cannabis and cannabinoids for pain found modest evidence supporting the use of cannabinoid pharmacotherapy for pain. Recent epidemiological studies have provided initial evidence for a possible reduction in opioid pharmacotherapy for pain as a result of increased implementation of medical cannabis regimens. ..."
"As more states introduce medical and recreational cannabis policies, we continue to learn more about the relationship between cannabis and opioids. Many patients have described a decreased need for prescription opioids after starting medical cannabis regimens. Many substances with addictive properties utilize common neural pathways, providing a theoretical basis for such anecdotes. Recently, rigorous studies have begun to provide evidence for these anecdotes as well. Bachhuber et al. described that states with medical cannabis laws had significantly lower annual opioid overdose mortality rates compared to states without medical cannabis.90 This finding may be the result of patients with chronic pain initiating pharmacotherapy with medical cannabis, thereby lowering the need for opioid pharmacotherapy. Less reliance on opioid pharmacotherapy may in turn lead to fewer fatal opioid overdoses."
Again, this is all my opinion, but like many others on this board, I'm incredibly confident in TBP's growth this year. The rec marijuana industry has garnered most of the investor attention to date, but there is still an extraordinary amount of growth available on the medical side. I'm glad TBP is working hard and fast to reach their goals that would undoubtedly put them among the leaders in the medical side of things.