Large Medical Cannabis Patient Study In Europe Picks African Company As Supplier

Drug Science (UK) has selected an African company as its supplier for its medical cannabis-focused clinical research initiative, Project Twenty21. The business in question: MG Health Limited, from the Kingdom of Lesotho.

According to the companies, Project Twenty21will target 20,000 U.K.-based patients suffering from chronic pain, anxiety disorder, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; substance use disorder and Tourette’s Syndrome. Researchers will look into the potential benefits of medical cannabis for the treatment of said conditions.

Francois Ferreira, COO of MG Health told Benzinga he thinks Project Twenty21 is a “bold initiative.” He noted his company sees this study as “a significant step toward collecting data from a large group of patients.

“This study will help validate the large body of anecdotal evidence regarding the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis. We believe that our industry has an equally important role in helping to dispel some of the exaggerated claims and distracting myths surrounding the product,” he said.

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Adding to these comments, David Badcock, CEO of U.K.-based Drug Science explained Project Twenty21 does not offer a short-cut to accessing medical cannabis in the U.K.

“Patients will need to be seen by a physician, and provided their medical indication can be addressed by medical cannabis, and cannot be addressed with an existing treatment, the doctor may give the patient a prescription for medical cannabis,” he said.

Each individual prescription still needs to be approved by the Home Office, on a “single prescription per single patient” basis, before the pharmacy is allowed to source the product and dispense it to the patient.

Acknowledging this is “a very slow and cumbersome process,” he hopes access to cannabis products, when appropriate, “will become a little easier as Project T21 is able to provide feedback to the authorities and participating prescribers.”