MEDICAL CANNABIS ABOUT TO BE PRESCRIBED IN ISRAEL. SHEBA MENTIONED.
Sales of medical cannabis are on the way to NIS 1 billion
Next week, the cannabis reform, which will allow the purchase of medical cannabis in pharmacies via prescription, will be launched. Industry revenues are expected to jump from about NIS 100 million a year to more than NIS 1 billion, even before approval for exports abroad
Sefi Krupsky, Calcalist Published: 09.04.18, 07:42 / Israel News Share on Twitter Share on Facebook share
Next Friday, April 20, some of you will be able to enter the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist for a medical cannabis product, and instead of encountering surprise or surprise on his part - get one - in exchange for the prescription, of course. This is the beginning of the main part of the cannabis reform that was led by the Ministry of Health and approved by the government in 2016.
Cannabis significantly improves the condition of cancer patients
Israeli research: How Cannabis affects adults
On Friday, a pilot will begin in which cannabis products will be sold in about 20 pharmacies that have been authorized to do so, mainly of the Super Pharm chain. The reform also includes dedicated certification, which was passed by about 80 doctors who will give prescriptions, along with certification of pharmacists. Until now, it was complicated and bureaucratic to obtain a license for cannabis - a doctor's recommendation and a committee's decision were required - from now on it would be a relief and only a prescription would be required from a physician authorized to do so.
The regulator, in this case the Ministry of Health, accompanies and supervises also the procedure for the growth of plants. These are four links in the chain - growers, manufacturing plants (under new supervision rules, as part of the reform), reception centers, sorting and distribution centers and pharmacies. As a rule, within the framework of the reform, corporate segregation will be carried out between the growth chain, production and supply chains, as is customary in the pharmaceutical market. The number of pharmacies that will be approved to sell cannabis products will not be limited in the final stage, but they will be required to meet certain conditions. The supply and management of the product will be carried out as is customary with narcotic drugs, ie, with explicit indications.
This is an industry that is expected to roll in quite a bit of money, and given that the cannabis export reform that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frozen for the time being, it will roll in much larger sums. This can be understood from the number of applications submitted by entrepreneurs to the Health Ministry in order to deal with the field - about 900 so far. These are mainly entrepreneurs from the bio-pharm field, alongside growers.
As of today, on the eve of the entry of the changes, the industry's revenues are about NIS 100 million a year in Israel, and according to professional sources, these amounts are expected to rise to over NIS 1 billion in about three to five years. The products sold are not yet subsidized by the state or the health funds, and are not expected to be cheap in the first stage - over NIS 500 on average for one product, a vial, tablets or a bag of inflorescences, compared to NIS 350 on average today.
A cure for everything
This reform places Israel as one of the most advanced countries in the world with regard to medical cannabis products, if not the leading ones. This is likely to affect many patients who require products derived from the plant, whose consumption without authorization is still defined as illegal in Israel and in some parts of the world - and will continue to be defined for the time being as long as it is not used for prescription products and prescription.
Prof. Arnon Afek of Sheba, former director-general of the Ministry of Health and who led the reform, explained in a conversation with Calcalist that "Cannabis was in medical use many years ago, but in the middle of the last century it was declared a dangerous drug. This has stopped research and medical use, so that there is not enough scientific evidence for it today. "
The benefits of cannabis oil
Only in the last few years has the research been renewed and as a result the approach to the plant has been changed. Prof. Afek said that in light of the conceptual change, "we have established a medical labeling committee that discussed all existing information, such as being an assistant to epilepsy and inflammatory bowel disease, which theoretically has the potential to help with autism and other types of medical problems." In other words, Israel and the Western world are rediscovering cannabis, and this holds a lot of positive news, but also untapped areas that have not yet been fully explored, hence the caution that is still being taken until they are investigated and mapped.
The great news that places Israel as a world leader in the field involves turning it into a medical product for all intents and purposes, like other medical products in the pharmacy. In other words, if in other parts of the world cannabis products are sold under relatively general labels, Israel aspires to be the first country in the world to sell medical cannabis products that are subject to certain product-level indications according to the GMP standard, which is considered to be the strictest. For example, a relatively long shelf life, and different concentrations of active matter.
What it means? Well, not another bag of cannabis flowers with the minimum labels and labels, but a drug for all intents and purposes that will be sold in different forms - drip bottles under the tongue, tablets, and also bags with cannabis inflorescences. In the first phase, eight extracts (in vials) and 11 inflorescences measured according to the active ingredient THC, primarily for the treatment of pain and CBD, intended mainly for anti-inflammatory diseases, and by concentration of active substances from high levels of substance for patients in severe conditions, will be sold Low levels of active substance for patients in mild conditions. The scale is determined according to a key defined by the Ministry of Health, identified with the number - 20 environments for a product with a high concentration, 10 for a product with low concentration.
"Israel leads in experiments"
Assuming that things follow the plan, Israel will be the first in the world to define very clear rules for the sale of cannabis products in pharmacies. Today the product is sold in pharmacies in various countries in the Western world, but without labels, long shelf life and accurate measurement of the active ingredient. "The cannabis industry in North America and Europe is characterized by a lack of uniformity and complete lack of standardization, there is no production capacity for fixed products - consumers buy every monthly package in which they receive 30 different products, one day the product has a beneficial effect , Monday has no effect and Tuesday side effects and so forth, without shelf life and without a standard, "explains Dr. Tamir Gadu, CEO of Bol Pharma, which will start selling cannabis products on the 20th of the month.
"The lack of industry standards and the lack of regulation around the world prevent pharma and biotech companies from entering the field," says Dr. Gado, adding that the current reform is expected to change this. "In Israel there are a large number of clinical trials at various stages, there are more clinical trials of cannabinoids Than the US and Europe combined, and this mass of clinical trials could bring to the market in the next decade 4-6 cannabinoid-based drugs, with these potential sales of billions of dollars. "
In the next six months, the distribution centers of non-profit organizations such as Tikkun Olam will continue to operate, in the manner in which they have operated so far. However, at the end of six months, these distribution centers will be closed and each tower or factory will be able to offer its produce for sale only in pharmacies and after meeting the rules and obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, due to the rise in the prices of medical cannabis, which is also due to the improvement of the product, its subsidy will apparently be one of the burning issues on the table of the Health Basket Committee in 2018. It is estimated that the medical cannabis will be inserted into the basket of drugs, ie, its price will be subsidized by the state Who labored to bring in the plant with medicinal properties to the mainstream and familiar drug stream, on the nose and chest of some of the traditional pharmaceutical companies.
This article was taken from an Israeli newspaper this morning. It was posted on the other board by fred26.
Sales of medical cannabis are on the way to NIS 1 billion
Next week, the cannabis reform, which will allow the purchase of medical cannabis in pharmacies via prescription, will be launched. Industry revenues are expected to jump from about NIS 100 million a year to more than NIS 1 billion, even before approval for exports abroad
Sefi Krupsky, Calcalist Published: 09.04.18, 07:42 / Israel News Share on Twitter Share on Facebook share
Next Friday, April 20, some of you will be able to enter the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist for a medical cannabis product, and instead of encountering surprise or surprise on his part - get one - in exchange for the prescription, of course. This is the beginning of the main part of the cannabis reform that was led by the Ministry of Health and approved by the government in 2016.
Cannabis significantly improves the condition of cancer patients
Israeli research: How Cannabis affects adults
On Friday, a pilot will begin in which cannabis products will be sold in about 20 pharmacies that have been authorized to do so, mainly of the Super Pharm chain. The reform also includes dedicated certification, which was passed by about 80 doctors who will give prescriptions, along with certification of pharmacists. Until now, it was complicated and bureaucratic to obtain a license for cannabis - a doctor's recommendation and a committee's decision were required - from now on it would be a relief and only a prescription would be required from a physician authorized to do so.
The regulator, in this case the Ministry of Health, accompanies and supervises also the procedure for the growth of plants. These are four links in the chain - growers, manufacturing plants (under new supervision rules, as part of the reform), reception centers, sorting and distribution centers and pharmacies. As a rule, within the framework of the reform, corporate segregation will be carried out between the growth chain, production and supply chains, as is customary in the pharmaceutical market. The number of pharmacies that will be approved to sell cannabis products will not be limited in the final stage, but they will be required to meet certain conditions. The supply and management of the product will be carried out as is customary with narcotic drugs, ie, with explicit indications.
This is an industry that is expected to roll in quite a bit of money, and given that the cannabis export reform that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frozen for the time being, it will roll in much larger sums. This can be understood from the number of applications submitted by entrepreneurs to the Health Ministry in order to deal with the field - about 900 so far. These are mainly entrepreneurs from the bio-pharm field, alongside growers.
As of today, on the eve of the entry of the changes, the industry's revenues are about NIS 100 million a year in Israel, and according to professional sources, these amounts are expected to rise to over NIS 1 billion in about three to five years. The products sold are not yet subsidized by the state or the health funds, and are not expected to be cheap in the first stage - over NIS 500 on average for one product, a vial, tablets or a bag of inflorescences, compared to NIS 350 on average today.
A cure for everything
This reform places Israel as one of the most advanced countries in the world with regard to medical cannabis products, if not the leading ones. This is likely to affect many patients who require products derived from the plant, whose consumption without authorization is still defined as illegal in Israel and in some parts of the world - and will continue to be defined for the time being as long as it is not used for prescription products and prescription.
Prof. Arnon Afek of Sheba, former director-general of the Ministry of Health and who led the reform, explained in a conversation with Calcalist that "Cannabis was in medical use many years ago, but in the middle of the last century it was declared a dangerous drug. This has stopped research and medical use, so that there is not enough scientific evidence for it today. "
The benefits of cannabis oil
Only in the last few years has the research been renewed and as a result the approach to the plant has been changed. Prof. Afek said that in light of the conceptual change, "we have established a medical labeling committee that discussed all existing information, such as being an assistant to epilepsy and inflammatory bowel disease, which theoretically has the potential to help with autism and other types of medical problems." In other words, Israel and the Western world are rediscovering cannabis, and this holds a lot of positive news, but also untapped areas that have not yet been fully explored, hence the caution that is still being taken until they are investigated and mapped.
The great news that places Israel as a world leader in the field involves turning it into a medical product for all intents and purposes, like other medical products in the pharmacy. In other words, if in other parts of the world cannabis products are sold under relatively general labels, Israel aspires to be the first country in the world to sell medical cannabis products that are subject to certain product-level indications according to the GMP standard, which is considered to be the strictest. For example, a relatively long shelf life, and different concentrations of active matter.
What it means? Well, not another bag of cannabis flowers with the minimum labels and labels, but a drug for all intents and purposes that will be sold in different forms - drip bottles under the tongue, tablets, and also bags with cannabis inflorescences. In the first phase, eight extracts (in vials) and 11 inflorescences measured according to the active ingredient THC, primarily for the treatment of pain and CBD, intended mainly for anti-inflammatory diseases, and by concentration of active substances from high levels of substance for patients in severe conditions, will be sold Low levels of active substance for patients in mild conditions. The scale is determined according to a key defined by the Ministry of Health, identified with the number - 20 environments for a product with a high concentration, 10 for a product with low concentration.
"Israel leads in experiments"
Assuming that things follow the plan, Israel will be the first in the world to define very clear rules for the sale of cannabis products in pharmacies. Today the product is sold in pharmacies in various countries in the Western world, but without labels, long shelf life and accurate measurement of the active ingredient. "The cannabis industry in North America and Europe is characterized by a lack of uniformity and complete lack of standardization, there is no production capacity for fixed products - consumers buy every monthly package in which they receive 30 different products, one day the product has a beneficial effect , Monday has no effect and Tuesday side effects and so forth, without shelf life and without a standard, "explains Dr. Tamir Gadu, CEO of Bol Pharma, which will start selling cannabis products on the 20th of the month.
"The lack of industry standards and the lack of regulation around the world prevent pharma and biotech companies from entering the field," says Dr. Gado, adding that the current reform is expected to change this. "In Israel there are a large number of clinical trials at various stages, there are more clinical trials of cannabinoids Than the US and Europe combined, and this mass of clinical trials could bring to the market in the next decade 4-6 cannabinoid-based drugs, with these potential sales of billions of dollars. "
In the next six months, the distribution centers of non-profit organizations such as Tikkun Olam will continue to operate, in the manner in which they have operated so far. However, at the end of six months, these distribution centers will be closed and each tower or factory will be able to offer its produce for sale only in pharmacies and after meeting the rules and obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, due to the rise in the prices of medical cannabis, which is also due to the improvement of the product, its subsidy will apparently be one of the burning issues on the table of the Health Basket Committee in 2018. It is estimated that the medical cannabis will be inserted into the basket of drugs, ie, its price will be subsidized by the state Who labored to bring in the plant with medicinal properties to the mainstream and familiar drug stream, on the nose and chest of some of the traditional pharmaceutical companies.
This article was taken from an Israeli newspaper this morning. It was posted on the other board by fred26.
