Zelda Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD) has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Emerald Clinics to access clinical data from patients treated with medicinal cannabis for pain and insomnia.
Emerald Clinics owns and operates an Australian network of dedicated medicinal cannabis clinics.
Zelda will us this access to real world patient data for its ongoing clinical trial work focused on developing new cannabis-based treatments to reduce opioid usage in patients with chronic pain as well as patients with insomnia and autism.
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Zelda’s managing director Dr Richard Hopkins said: “Australia’s commitment to developing a highly regulated market for prescription cannabis medicines means this country is now a global leader in collection of high-quality longitudinal clinical data relating to patients treated with medicinal cannabis.
“We believe Emerald’s approach to collection and curation of patient data makes this information a very valuable commodity world-wide.”
Option to access future data of patients using Zelda-branded producted
The agreement also includes an option for Zelda to access real-world data collected from patients prescribed Zelda-branded cannabis products, which the company is aiming to bring to market in 2020.
Hopkins added: “Being able to access real-world data, in real-time, from patients treated with regulated cannabis medicines – including, in the near future, our own clinically validated products – will provide Zelda with a significant competitive advantage.
“This information will inform the design of future clinical trials, reduce the risks and costs of development and accelerate the path to market.
“These key value-adding features will further differentiate Zelda from its global peers and enhance the commercialisation opportunities for the company.”