A clinical trial backed by the Medical Cannabis Bike Tour (MCBT) has got underway in Spain, aiming to determine whether cannabinoids can help treat glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
The first patient enrolled last month at Madrid's University Hospital 12 de Octubre, entering an 18-month study examining the anti-tumour potential of a balanced THC/CBD formulation when combined with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide and radiotherapy.
The trial is being conducted across eight specialist neuro-oncology centres and will enrol a total of 30 patients. It is the result of a decade-long working relationship between the scientific community and the medicinal cannabis sector.
The MCBT is providing independent funding for the trial, with Tilray supplying the EU-GMP certified medication and researchers from the University of Madrid's Complutense contributing the scientific expertise.
The MCBT's involvement with glioblastoma research dates back to 2013, when it began channelling funds toward Complutense's investigations into how cannabinoids affect cancer cells and whether they could offer a viable treatment pathway for the disease.
The charity was co-founded by Luc Krol of Netherlands-based cannabis genetics seed bank Paradise Seeds and Matej Munih of Snail Rolling Papers. Through a series of European bike tours documented on YouTube and social media, the organisation raised over €400,000, the proceeds of which are financing the current trial.
Coordinating investigator Dr Juan Manuel Sepúlveda Sánchez said: "Biological evidence has been accumulating for more than 15 years that cannabinoids have anti-tumour activity in the most aggressive brain tumours, glioblastomas.
"With this trial, we are helping to give our patients a new option, but also to open up a therapeutic avenue."
MCBT co-founder Luc Krol said: "The world was very different when we began the MCBT 10 years ago. In the pre-legalisation era, the term 'medical cannabis' was still seen by many people as a fantasy.
“The fact that [we] can independently fund a clinical trial in the name of science, not profit, is amazing thanks to the sponsors and riders who made it happen.”
Tilray chief strategy officer and head of international business Denise Faltischek described the trial as "a beacon of hope for patients suffering from glioblastoma".
