Medicinal Cannabis for Australian Pets

Working with the CSIRO, pet pharmaceutical company CannPal is developing new pet medications using medicinal cannabis, to relieve pain, nausea, loss of appetite and other symptoms of ill health in animals.

Just like humans, dogs, cats and horses have a biological and neurological system designed to receive and process cannabinoids – one of the main classes of chemical compounds in cannabis. The endocannabinoid system is involved in physiological processes such as appetite, pain-sensation, nausea, mood and memory. This makes it a good choice for combating symptoms in pets resulting from diseases such as arthritis and cancer, as well as other joint, skin, and digestive disorders.

To ensure medicinal cannabis achieves the best result it must be optimised for the specific animals’ body and digestive system. A horse, for instance, absorbs medicinal cannabis in an entirely different way to a dog. This is where researchers at the CSIRO come in.

The CSIRO are researching new production processes for CannPal to optimise the way it delivers its proprietary compounds to companion animals. Central to this will be their patented MicroMax™ technology, a production system that creates a potent powder, containing high levels of therapeutic cannabis oils. MicroMax is a microencapsulation technology, meaning the powder can be optimised and analysed down to the particle level, to ensure the most potent and easily manufactured product possible.

The CSIRO are looking to see if MicroMax is an effective way to mix cannabis oils with other beneficial oils in a way that maximises the amount of medicinal cannabis that can be included, and protects its potency all the way from manufacture through to when it finally gets absorbed in a pets’ stomach. Using MicroMax means it may be possible to determine where in the stomach the powder dissolves, to ensure maximum effect.

This research project was made possible through the CSIRO Kick-start program, providing CannPal with access to CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities and dollar-matched funding to undertake the research project.

CSIRO Kick-start is designed specifically to support the growth of start-ups and small businesses that are on their way to becoming Australian success stories.