Cannabis-based medicines could be ‘cost-effective’ for treatment of chronic pain

Early economic analysis suggests that cannabis-based medicines may be a cost-effective treatment for managing chronic pain. 

Initial findings from a small feasibility study suggest that at the right price point, cannabis-based medicines could offer a cost-effective alternative for the treatment of chronic pain, if prescribed on the NHS.

This is according to early economic analysis of data collected as part of the feasibility study for a regulatory-approved clinical trial investigating the potential of cannabis-based medicines in chronic pain. 

Following the three-month study, York Health Economic Consulting was commissioned to carry out an independent review of the data generated, and to construct an early economic model.

Celadon Pharmaceuticals, the company behind the research, announced the findings in a media release last week.

Patients on the feasibility study reportedly recorded an almost 50% (49.6%) reduction in pain scores in the first month of using cannabis-based medicines, with this reduction in pain being sustained throughout the three-month study.

Patients are also said to have seen a ‘significant improvement’ in their quality of sleep scores, and a reduction in the use of opioids and associated medicines, while their number of quality-adjusted life years also increased.

When assessed using the economic framework recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), adding cannabis-based medicines to the Standard of Care was found to deliver a cost-effective solution and, depending on the price point, a cost saving to the NHS. 

The company intends to build on these findings with additional data collected in the forthcoming CANPAIN trial, which received approval from the NHS Research Ethics Committee in August 2023 to run in up to 5,000 patients.

As part of the study framework, GPs will be permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicines to patients where clinically appropriate, for the first time in the UK. 

James Short, CEO of Celadon Pharmaceuticals Plc, commented: “We are incredibly proud to announce these highly encouraging results, which show just how beneficial cannabis-based medicines could be to millions of patients across the UK, whose needs are currently going unmet. 

“This positive data gives us even greater confidence in our forthcoming clinical trial, which will involve up to 5,000 patients and see General Practitioners permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicines. Once completed, the NHS will have a proven and cost-effective alternative for managing chronic pain, which we are confident will break down the barriers to prescriptions in the UK.

“Our research has also identified additional conditions that could benefit from cannabis-based medicines, significantly expanding the potential patient pool well beyond our initial estimates of 8 million people in the UK alone.

“This broader scope underscores the transformative potential of our work, and is a momentous opportunity for Celadon, the NHS, and most importantly, for patients.”

The trial was developed in response to a call for evidence to evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of cannabis-based medicines for use in humans, issued by NICE in October 2018. 

Government representatives have repeatedly called on the medical cannabis industry to put forward clinical trials to gather the evidence which regulators have called for in order for cannabis-based medicines to be more widely prescribed through the NHS.

Short also urged other businesses to ‘follow our lead’ and invest in gathering this clinical data.

“As far as we are aware, this is the only known trial responding directly to the government’s call for more comprehensive data on cannabis-based medicines, he added.

“I would encourage my colleagues across the industry to follow our lead and gather the clinical data required to support NHS prescriptions of cannabis-based medicines.”

A separate economic analysis, spearheaded by the research subgroup of the Cannabis Industry Council is also exploring whether it would be cost-effective for medical cannabis to be prescribed on the NHS.

Cannabis Health understands that this has now been completed by researchers at the University of York and is expected to be published in the coming months.