The vast majority of patients enrolled in France's medicinal cannabis trial have reported benefiting from the treatment, according to the first clinical data published since the program began.
Released since the trial's launch in March 2021, the figures show that 91% of 1,453 participants reported positive outcomes from the medication.
Among those patients, 792 were receiving treatment for refractory neuropathic pain, 215 for painful spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, and 181 for drug-resistant epilepsies.
An additional 105 patients were in oncology, 104 in palliative care situations, and 56 were being treated for spasticity.
According to 420 Intel, medicinal cannabis brought the share of patients describing their pain as 'severe' or 'unbearable' down from 81% to just 29% over the first six months.
Just under a third of patients recorded a 30% reduction in their pain intensity score at the six-month mark based on a 'Brief Pain Inventory' (BPI) questionnaire, while just over 40% reported a 'significant' or 'very significant' easing of pain by month three — a trend that continued beyond the six- and nine-month points.
The data, published by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), also pointed to encouraging outcomes for palliative care patients, particularly around insomnia and pain management, with 51% reporting a 'significant improvement' and 45% a 'moderate improvement'.
Across the full study, 91% of participants said they supported the legalisation of medicinal cannabis in France.
Even so, the results are not anticipated to shape any decision on whether France will legalise the medicine more broadly.
ANSM director Nathalie Richard said the trial was "not intended to assess the effectiveness of medical cannabis, even if clinical data is collected", but to "to evaluate, in a real situation, the recommendations of the committee in terms of prescribing and dispensing conditions".
Little Green Pharma and Althea are among the companies supplying product for the trial.
