Canadian Pharma Company's Cannabis-Based Drug Could Treat COVID-19 Side Effects

Akseera Pharma, a Canadian startup, is working on bringing drugs based on cannabis -- specifically Cannabidiol -- a compound derived from Cannabis to treat patients with cardiac damage caused due to COVID-19.

The pharmaceutical company is currently in talks with the government to commence clinical trials and manufacturing of cannabidiol in India.

Representational Image: Reuters

It is no secret that cannabis has been legalised in some states in the US as well as Canada and is known for its psychoactive properties. However, at the same time, it also has several medicinal properties, and as per claims by Akseera Pharma, ability to cure hearts suffering from arrhythmia.

What is arrhythmia?

Arrhythmia is a heart condition which is caused due to improper beating of the heart. Normally our heart beats at a steady pace, however, in arrhythmia, it can either go too fast or too slow. This is caused mainly due to the electrical impulses in the heart not going in sync. If left unchecked, this can lead to cardiac arrest and other severe heart conditions.

Akseera CBD and arrhythmia study

CBD in the past has been proven to be beneficial in treating several conditions like pain, to effects of chemotherapy, including antiviral properties. However, a recent study by Akseera (published in the British Journal of Pharmacology) has shown that the cannabis compound CBD has properties to rescue cardiac cells from arrhythmias. It helped in mitigating all the dangerous effects that were caused as a result of high-glucose. And using this preclinical data, they plan to use it as a potential drug for curing COVID-19 side effects.

Using CBD for COVID-19 treatment

Seeing the results of its study, Akseera is of the belief that its offerings including CBD can help mitigate the effects of candidate medications in clinical trials. In a recent conversation with Money Control, Akseera¡¯s co-founder Shreema Merchant said, ¡°In January, when the pandemic was gaining momentum, what we found in research was that CBD can actually rescue cardiac cells from arrhythmias. Some of the repurposed drugs like hydroxychloroquine are found to cause arrhythmia in certain cases, a lethal side-effect that CBD can rescue. We found ourselves in a very obvious position to help make COVID treatment safer and affordable, accessible to patients with comorbidities.¡±

As per the company¡¯s website, they¡¯re currently testing its efficacy in Canada, where cannabis for therapeutic use is legal since 2018.

Reuters

Plans of commencing CBD-based treatment in India

They also revealed that the company is in talks with India¡¯s Drugs Controller General of India to commence trails for starting CBD therapy for COVID-19 in India. They¡¯ve also stated that if all goes well, the treatments could start as soon as the end of 2020.