More than one in three adults in the UK suffers from chronic pain — just under 28 million people, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). But until now, the treatment options have been severely limited by the addictiveness of opioid painkillers.
While opioids such as codeine and morphine dull pain, they also produce a sense of euphoria that can become habit-forming over longer periods of use. There are about 20 legal opioids in the UK currently, but only available on prescription from a doctor and generally only for three months at a time for non-cancer patients. Heroin, the opioid made from morphine, is classified as a highly illegal Class A drug.
But now Vertanical, a German pharmaceutical company, claims it has designed a non-addictive alternative to opioid painkillers based on the cannabis plant rather than the poppy. Called VER-01, it’s currently at phase three of the clinical trial stage, checking its safety and efficacy. The results of a study involving about 800 participants suffering chronic back pain are currently under review from medical journal The Lancet.
Vertanical reports that, while half the trial participants received a placebo, the half treated with VER-01 reported less pain and better sleep. “VER-01 reduces pain without creating dependency or having an abuse potential,” Vertanical chief executive Clemens Fischer told The Times. “It has the full potential to replace opiates as it’s more effective. It’s a real alternative for chronic [pain] patients — the first one.”
Vertanical’s stated goal is to develop a non-opioid painkiller for chronic pain sufferers that can also help users sleep better and alleviate symptoms of depression connected to their health issues. The company has spent eight years on research and development for VER-01, which it hopes will become “a leading therapy for the treatment of chronic pain by 2030”.
The new drug contains the full range of compounds found in the cannabis plant — including the psychoactive element THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). However, Vertanical claims it is too low a dosage to risk VER-01 users getting high, although around 25 per cent of the participants did report feelings of dizziness for the first few weeks of the trial.
Vertanical has already applied for regulatory approval in Europe, where VER-01 would be sold as drops under the name Exilby. The company is also in discussions about seeking approval from the UK government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
Recreational cannabis is an illegal Class B drug in the UK, and THC products are also banned from sale. Some products containing CBD (cannabidiol), a non-psychoactive element of the cannabis plant, are legal, but only when they contain less than 0.2 per cent THC.
Nice currently does not endorse THC or CBD as a treatment for chronic pain. A committee found that, while there was some evidence that cannabis-based medicinal products reduced chronic pain, “the evidence did not show a reduction in opioid use in people prescribed medicinal cannabis”. A cost-benefit analysis found that while it could potentially help a large number of people, it would also be expensive and thus “not an effective use of NHS resources”.
Millions of Britons will surely be hoping VER-01 is the breakthrough that could change their minds.
