SciSparc Reports Developing Cannabinoids Based Acute Pain Relief Alternative To Help Counter Opioid Crisis

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Pain is an integral part of the body’s nervous system that tells us when to stop doing something or if we need help — but what about when it either is too strong or won’t go away?

Acute pain is described according to the Cleveland Clinic as pain that “usually comes on suddenly and is caused by something specific. It is sharp in quality. Acute pain usually doesn’t last longer than six months. It goes away when there is no longer an underlying cause for the pain.”

Managing pain can be a daily challenge — and the available treatment options can be far from ideal for short-term use. That’s why companies like SciSparc Ltd. SPRC say they are hoping to bring safe, effective pain management treatments to the market. For SciSparc, this is in the form of SCI-160, its synthetic cannabinoid drug candidate.

Does The Opioid Crisis Highlight A Glaring, Unmet Need In Acute Pain Management?

For decades, opioid-based painkillers like hydrocodone, oxycodone and fentanyl have been the go-to treatment options for patients suffering from acute, chronic and severe pain. The powerful drugs offer fast-acting and significant relief, often allowing patients to regain mobility and return to daily life.

However, opioids are also highly addictive and carry a serious risk of overdose, especially as tolerance builds and doses get higher. These risks are so high, in fact, that nearly 841,000 people have died from overdose since 1999, accounting for over 70% of all overdose deaths in the country.

Of patients who are prescribed opioids for pain, as many as 29% will eventually misuse them, and 12% may form an addiction. 

It was arguably these high risks combined with the rising rates of acute pain in the United States and the misleading marketing pushes from opioid manufacturers and distributors that led to the flurry of lawsuits against major pharmaceuticals like Johnson & Johnson JNJ and AmerisourceBergen Corp. ABC. 

Now, doctors view opioids as a last resort for patients who aren’t responding to other medications or who are suffering from terminal illnesses. 

Instead, they opt for non-addictive treatments including anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and acetaminophen, both of which are not as effective at relieving extreme pain and can cause stomach bleeding, ulcers and kidney or liver damage when used regularly.

That means the millions of patients with pain are sometimes left with two less-than-perfect options for pain management: powerful pain relief with a serious risk of overdose and addiction or mild pain relief with the risk of organ damage.

Does SCI-160 Offer A Safer, More Potent Alternative For Acute Pain Management?

SCI-160 is SciSparc’s proprietary synthetic CB2 receptor agonist, a key receptor in the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) that’s reportedly responsible for regulating inflammation and pain signals. In a 2018 meta-analysis of studies on cannabinoids and pain published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, cannabis-based treatments reduced pain scores by an average of more than 30% immediately after dosing. 

Moreover, cannabinoid-derived treatments — since ingested rather than inhaled — don’t come with the same risk of organ damage and bleeding. 

The most pronounced adverse reactions are the psychoactive side effects — that high feeling associated with cannabis — but SciSparc says that SCI-160 was specifically formulated without the compounds that cause those psychoactive effects. This means patients could enjoy the powerful pain relief without feeling high and without the long-term risks that come with existing pain-management options.

SciSparc has reported that preclinical studies of the drug candidate have so far yielded positive results as a treatment for both acute and chronic pain. Moreover, in these studies, not only SCI-160 was well tolerated and did not cause any significant adverse clinical effects, efficacy studies demonstrated the analgesic superiority of SCI-160 over control and were comparable to high-dose morphine analgesic effects and in some instants exerted greater potency. The company completed its current preclinical studies and is getting ready to file an investigational new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration to begin Phase 1 human trials by the first half of next year.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.