Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries Israel and pharmaceutical firm Rafa have signed a collaboration agreement with Israeli-Canadian medical cannabis company PlantEXT Ltd.

The companies will co-develop the next generation of medical cannabis products intended for patients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease and are authorized to receive treatment with medical cannabis.

The treatment consists of medical cannabis suppositories, which contain a composition based on a combination of defined and precise active ingredients from the cannabis plant. The novelty lies in the fact that for the first time, a medical cannabis product will be developed in order to offer a targeted solution to patients suffering from Crohn’s disease and Colitis, in order to decrease the level of inflammation in the intestine.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis) are chronic diseases that can appear at any age. Now for the first time, treatment with medical cannabis for these patients will be delivered utilizing an accepted, conventional pharmaceutical delivery system, and which is based on clinical research. This will offer a potential solution and increase accessibility of the treatment to a greater number of patients who need it and are eligible to receive it.

The active ingredients in the rectal cannabis suppositories are absorbed at a relatively fast rate through blood vessels and are not first metabolized by the liver, unlike medications that are taken orally. As a result, the biological availability of the active ingredients rises on the one hand, and a speedy physical response occurs on the other hand.

“By enabling cannabis accessibility via traditional pharmaceutical delivery systems, and which are not based on smoking, we are striving to enable patients who are eligible for medical cannabis treatment, for a wide range of diseases, to be able to benefit from its unique attributes, subject at all times to the advice of a qualified medical specialist,” Panaxia CEO Dr. Dadi Segal stated.