EXCLUSIVE: Cannabis-Based Drug Approved For Cancer Treatment In Peru

Cannabis-based drug Sativyl has been approved as a treatment for cancer-related pain in Peru.

Sativyl, produced by Verdemed, was created to be as similar as possible to Sativex, produced by Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC JAZZ’s GW Pharmaceuticals and is recommended for the relief of cancer symptoms and spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Among other uses, Sativyl is indicated to relieve strong pain. The medication is considered an efficient, non-addictive substitute for opioids, like morphine or oxycodone.

In the United States, opioids are considered a public health issue. The CDC recorded a 28.5% increase in deaths caused by opioid overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021. For the first time ever, the country surpassed the mark of 100,000 drug-related deaths over a year-long period.

An Alternative To Classic Antiemetics

Sativyl also works to control nausea caused by chemotherapy treatment. The antiemetic performance of the medication improves the patient's appetite and, consequently, their physical condition to face the therapy.

Sativyl contains a 27 mg/ml concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and 25 mg/ml of CBD. It’s sold by the flask and contains 10 ml and 250 mg of concentration.

The medicine itself is produced in Canada by the pharmaceutical company Verdemed, in partnership with the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology.

“In January of next year, we’ll have Sativyl on the Peruvian market,” says José Bacellar, the company’s CEO. “We believe it will cost a third of Mevatyl [the Brazilian version of Sativex], coming up to a mere R$500 [$89.60].”

The Peruvian health license was approved less than one month after Verdemed received the Brazilian Sanitary Agency (ANVISA) approval to distribute full spectrum 50 mg/ml CBD, a medicine developed in partnership with the American-Colombian company Clever Leaves CLVR. Documentation for Sativyl has already been submitted to ANVISA (the Brazilian equivalent of the FDA) for analysis.

Más contenido sobre cannabis en Español en El Planteo.

Photo by Carlos Ruiz Huaman on Unsplash