Impression Healthcare (ASX:IHL) to start cannabis trials for treatment of brain injury

• Impression Healthcare (IHL) will commence its clinical program to test the treatment of traumatic brain injury and concussion using cannabis
• The company has now finalised the design for its clinical program
• Impression will target Australian MMA fighters who receive head knocks and show symptoms of moderate to severe head concussions
• Head traumas are a critical issue in contact sports such as AFL and NFL
• Impression is up 17.8 per cent on the market today, trading at 5.3¢ per share

Impression Healthcare (IHL) will commence its clinical program to test the treatment of traumatic brain injury and concussion using cannabis.

The company has finalised the design for its clinical program for the assessment of IHL-216A.

IHL-216A is being assessed on its ability to protect the brain against main injury mechanisms that cause cell death and other negative consequences in the days and weeks following head trauma in sports and other scenarios.

Clinical success will infer a wide range of implications and uses.

“The best evidence available today suggests that CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is not caused by any single injury, but rather it is caused by years of regular brain trauma,” Chief Medical Officer Dr Sud Agarwal, said.

“By treating concussion in the days following those injuries, IHL will have effectively created a CTE prevention plan that lessens the effects of TBI in the short term whilst potentially lessening the patient’s risk of developing CTE,” he added.

Impression will be targeting Australian MMA fighters who receive head knocks and show symptoms of moderate to severe head concussions.

Concussions will be measured and determined using the FitGuard concussive measuring mouthguards and neurocognitive tests. The tests cover important aspects of the brain including attention, memory, language, reaction time and perception.

Each fighter will complete the tests at various points post-trauma to compare IHL-216A and placebos.

The products satisfy World Anti-doping Authority (WADA) and the Australian Anti-Doping Authority’s (ASADA) specifications for use by elite athletes.

Head traumas are a critical issue in contact sports such as AFL and NFL.

Animal studies will also be conducted to asses a different form of IHL-216A to maximise potential commercial opportunities.

Impression is up 17.8 per cent on the market today, trading at 5.3¢ per share at 2:02 pm AEDT.