An East Tamaki-based company that’s set to be among the first in the world to register cannabis medicines for pets has completed its first study involving dogs.
Hale Animal Health, Helius Therapeutics’s sister company, provides “scientifically formulated range of pet supplements” for household pets.
The study, titled ‘Pilot pharmacokinetic study of CBD treatment in healthy dogs’, saw a group of healthy dogs treated orally with an investigational veterinary product.
The dog’s CBD concentration levels and the rate it cleared their bodies, among other things, were seen through periodic blood samples.
“The study confirmed our hypothesis around how to best dose, supporting our desired dosing regime,” Hale Animal Health’s managing director Leila de Koster said.
“It confirmed the bio-availability or, broadly speaking, the absorption of our investigational product and so overall we’re delighted.”
Hale Animal Health is seeking to achieve approval in New Zealand and Australia for CBD veterinary-prescribed medicines. The company’s first data package for regulators to assess is planned for 2023.
“Hale is aiming to be one of the first in the world to deliver clinically-trialled and registered cannabidiol-based products for pets,” de Koster says.
“The pharmacokinetic study represents a key first step.”
Chief executive of Helius Therapeutics Carmen Doran says that CBD will be a game-changer for many Kiwi pet owners and their suffering pets.
“CBD is highly effective for treating the likes of pain and inflammation in humans and we believe it’s no different for animals,” Doran says.
“All mammals have an endocannabinoid system with receptors that work with cannabinoids, the active substance in medicinal cannabis.”
Hale says they will work hard to prove the notion that CBD can treat pet anxiety, stress, nausea, skin conditions, arthritis and seizures through trials and reliable clinical data.
