Medical cannabis product ‘improves’ pain, lameness and quality of life in dogs

New findings have shown promising results for medicinal cannabis in dogs with osteoarthritis, says Australian company. 

Australian medical cannabis company, AusCann has reported promising results in a pilot study of a cannabinoid-based veterinary medicine for pain and inflammation in dogs. 

The study examined the potential of a cannabinoid-based veterinary medicine developed by CannPal Animal Therapeutics Ltd.

According to the firm, this was a world-first, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, in which client owned animals diagnosed with osteoarthritis were treated with CPAT-01 – a pharmaceutical product derived from THC and CBD – over an eight week period.

Findings showed positive indicators of the product improving pain, lameness and mood, based on clinical and biochemical results.

The veterinary pain and inflammation market is worth over US$1billion globally.

There is a need for viable treatment alternatives for dogs, particularly the elderly and compromised dogs, where current treatments for pain and inflammation may be undesirable. 

The study protocol included several subjective pain, mobility and quality of life assessments, as well as objective measures of a range of biomarkers and clinical safety outcomes in 46 participating dogs.

A total reduction in veterinary lameness scoring was observed in all dogs treated with CPAT-01, compared with those given a placebo.

Placebo dogs had worse mobility after 56 days of treatment, whereas treated dogs had significantly improved, according to the study.

Owner’s observations were also documented to give a more comprehensive picture of the dog’s response, with more positive comments reflecting improvements in pain, mobility and mood when compared with placebo treated dogs. 

AusCann said the positive clinical indicators give the company “confidence moving forward with the development programme of CPAT-01”.