SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Feb. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Veritas Pharma Puerto Rico LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Veritas Pharma, Inc. has announced the dosing of the first adult volunteer in its clinical trial of their lead cannabis product, CTL-X, for the treatment of acute pain. The randomized, double-blinded crossover trial will assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of CTL-X as a single dose vaporized challenge in 16 healthy adults. CTL-X, supplied by one of Puerto Rico’s notable cannabis performers, the Institute for Medical Cannabis (IMC), will be evaluated on its analgesic properties on simulated pain using standardized pain scales. The clinical research organization, Fundación de Investigación (FDI), administered the trial drug in the phase II-III unit at their state-of-the-art facility. Veritas and FDI anticipate data from the clinical trial in May 2019.
“Dosing the first subject with CTL-X represents a significant milestone for Veritas,” said Scott Alexander, MBBS, the company’s medical director. “We are hopeful that this trial will validate our functional therapeutic model utilizing cannabis for medical purposes, based on our extensive preclinical data of CTL-X. It is a great step to advance our medical cannabis development program.”
The trials represent Veritas’ latest advancement in Puerto Rico’s market, which has seen exponential growth since the government’s regulation of medicinal cannabis. Since the Puerto Rican government’s approval of the Medicinal Cannabis Act, 59,302 patients have obtained their license as of February 2019; a number that the local government hopes to triple with its new regulatory framework. Pain and pain-related disorders represent over 52 percent of the conditions patients seek a license for medical cannabis.