Avicanna Expands Marijuana As Treatment For Epilepsy

A Toronto-based cannabis company Avicanna is delving into epilepsy treatments. In September, Avicanna announced it was filing a U.S. patent application to create cannabinoid formulations for epilepsy treatment. 

In October, Hemp Grower interviewed Avicanna’s vice president of scientific and medical affairs, Dr. Karolina Urban, Ph.D., about her company’s work regarding cannabis treatments for epilepsy. During the interview, Urban could not mention which cannabinoids Avicanna used in their treatment but shared that it’s a “specific ratio of various cannabinoids and terpenes.”

According to Cannabis Business Times, Avicanna grows its cannabis in the foothills of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range. From there, the company sells cannabis products in Canada’s adult-use and medical market. They also license hemp-based CBD topical creations to companies re+PLAY and Red White & Bloom, which sell in the United States.

Avicanna conducts observational studies in Canada’s medical market to examine results regarding absorption rates and bioavailability. It will also analyze which cannabinoid ratios work best for certain conditions. With these results, Avicanna shares the information with physicians to help make proper recommendations to patients.

Some products take longer to process and review in pharmaceutical examinations, and this is why Avicanna wants to begin implementing epilepsy formulations. According to Urban, these products will go through several preclinical studies and could gain regulatory review from the FDA or Health Canada.

Avicanna’s epilepsy drug creations have been examined by Dr. Peter Carlen, M.D., an epilepsy researcher at the University Health Network’s Krembil Research Institute in Toronto. Regarding a press release from Avicanna about Carlen’s findings, it noted that the “formulation candidate produced significant anticonvulsant effects as compared to treatment with cannabidiol (‘CBD’) or tetrahydrocannabinol (‘THC’) alone.”

Urban told Filter that when cannabis-based treatments are used to target epilepsy, they aim for various receptors. In comparison, many anti-epileptic drugs out there only target single receptors and are often prescribed with other medications that also target single receptors.

Urban continued that these pharmaceutical drugs often have unwanted side effects, and between 30% to 40% of individuals taking these drugs for epilepsy don’t see many advantages. On the other hand, cannabis has natural receptor-binding abilities that produce the entourage effect through various natural compounds.

Furthermore, Urban added that Avicanna would improve its epilepsy drug by providing the most accurate and effective treatment they can. She said that using certain ingredients will maximize absorption rates and extend a product’s shelf life.