The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on July 5th a new cannabinoid drug called Syndros, from the Insys company to treat symptoms of patients suffering from AIDS and cancer.

Syndros is an oral liquid medicine that resembles the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in regular marijuana but pharmaceutically elaborated. The FDA approved the use of the medication, in patients suffering from anorexia-related to AIDS and vomiting related to cancer treatments.

Marijuana's medical use has proven to benefit plenty of fields in medicine, and now those fields include the AIDS and cancer treament research. Image Credit: Sun Times
Marijuana’s medical use has proven to benefit plenty of fields in medicine, and now those fields include the AIDS and cancer treatment research. Image Credit: Sun-Times

The company, Insys, hopes the drug reliefs AIDS and cancer patients from the effects caused by their diseases and the treatments they take. Syndros is now the first  FDA-approved medicine that comes from THC.

“We are very pleased to announce the FDA approval of Syndros, we believe that Syndros will be an important new treatment option for patients suffering from the devastating effects of chemotherapy-induced nausea and anorexia related with AIDS,” assured John N. Kapoor the company’s CEO, President, and Chairman in a press release.

Pharmaceutical THC

Syndros is now the first and only THC medicine on the market approved by the FDA, being a dronabinol solution meant to be used orally, and it’s easy to swallow, according to its makers. The medicine doesn’t need to be refrigerated after opened and it provides a solution for seriously-ill patients.

Medical use of marijuana has been discussed for decades, but in the last few years, several countries have endured on the legalization of the drug for both recreational and medicinal uses. From Uruguay to states in America, marijuana medical applications has gain more acceptance.

Over 20 states of the country have already approved the medicinal and recreational uses of cannabis.  The website, Business Insider, reports that the usage of the plant could help mentally ill patients suffering from anxiety, OCD, and reliefs high stress. Nonetheless, the negative effects of smoking have made pills a better option.

Insys hopes the pharmaceutical will expand in the market, and the company is also planning to detail personally to physicians the medicine to gain more acceptance and name in the current market.

Despite being an excellent relief for anorexia associated with AIDS and nausea related to Cancer chemotherapy. Patients suffering from cardiac disorders might experience hypotension, syncope or tachycardia when taking the medicine.

Syndros might cause cognitive and psychiatric effects, or lead to mental and physical impairments of abilities. The approval of the FDA has spiked Insys rates in the stock to 8.24%, around 6.66 million shares of the company have started to be treated.  Normally the company had a trading volume of 105 shares on a typical day.

The company hopes to open its way in the pharmaceutical market as the primary option for patients seeking benefits for disease induced symptoms and to physicians looking to recommend optional treatments.

Source: Yahoo!