Cannformatics Announces Publication of Study Identifying Cannabis-Responsive™ Biomarkers in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

SAN FRANCISCO

• Study results indicate the potential of Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers as a powerful tool in quantifying, at the metabolic level, the benefits of successful medical cannabis treatment in children with ASD.
• Study results also show the potential of Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers to provide insights into the mechanism of action of medical cannabis treatment, a first step toward improving medical cannabis treatment for people with ASD of all ages as well as other neurological disorders.
• The paper “Cannabis-Responsive Biomarkers: a pharmacometabolomics-based application to evaluate the impact of medical cannabis treatment on children with ASD” is published and available to read in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research and at Cannformatics.com/asd-study.

Cannformatics, an early-stage biotechnology startup focused on personalizing medical cannabis treatment through the identification and application of saliva-based Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers, announced today that the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research has published results from its observational pilot study of children with ASD. Participants in the study were racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse boys and girls ages 6-12 years old whose symptoms span the autism spectrum. The study successfully identifies a new class of metabolites, Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers, that objectively quantify the physiological impact of medical cannabis treatment and provide a tool for investigating the metabolic pathways affected by medical cannabis and CBD. The underlying technology and study methodology were developed by a multi-disciplinary team of experts in biochemistry, bioinformatics, data science, neuropsychology, pediatrics, integrative oncology, emergency medicine, and the medical cannabis industry.

“One of our primary goals was to scientifically validate Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers as a universal measurement for evaluating cannabis impact. The publishing of this paper achieves that goal, and it represents over three-years of research developing a biomarker technology for objectively determining the impact of commercially available medical cannabis products,” said Itzhak Kurek, PhD, Cannformatics CEO and Cofounder. “Based on the strong findings from this study, we are expanding our platform development to include chronic neuropathic pain, anxiety, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. We are forever grateful to all the participating children and their families who made this work possible.”

“The lack of objective data contributes to the confusion and stigma patients face when looking to medical cannabis to improve wellness and quality-of-life. Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers give the industry a new set of tools to quantitatively evaluate the medical impact of legally available cannabis and CBD products,” said Chief Commercial Officer and Cofounder, Kenneth Epstein. “We felt it was important to publish and publicly share our findings as a demonstration of our commitment to both the ASD and medical cannabis communities. We want to thank our sponsors Canniatric and Whole Plant Access for Autism (WPA4A.org) for their generous support of the ASD Pilot Study.”

Donald Abrams, MD, study co-author, Cannformatics Science Advisor and UCSF School of Medicine Professor Emeritus, commented, “This study demonstrates that saliva-based Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers may be a valid tool for clinicians and researchers to use in evaluating the impact of medical cannabis. This opens up new avenues of medical cannabis research that will undoubtedly help patients and their doctors to have more informed conversations about the potential role of medical cannabis in managing symptoms.”

“As a medical cannabis clinician and pediatrician who treats many patients with autism, this study is very exciting because it shows for the first time that the positive outcomes I’m seeing from medical cannabis can be confirmed and quantified with Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers. The changes seen in these biomarker levels in response to medical cannabis treatment will help guide clinicians and parents to optimize treatment in children with autism,” said Bonni Goldstein, MD, study co-author and Cannformatics Clinical Advisor.

(This information is primarily sourced from Cannformatics.  Highly Capitalized has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Read our Disclaimer here).