Medical breakthrough reveals cannabis could kill superbugs and save 10 million lives per year

A surprising drug could become the first class of antibiotics in 60 years to kill resistant bacteria in diseases such as gonorrhea, meningitis and legionnaires.

Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland have discovered a new use for cannabis in their global fight against deadly superbugs.

Laboratory studies have shown that synthetic cannabidiol, the main non-psychoactive component in cannabis better known as CBD, can kill bacteria in diseases such as gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection.

The research has been heralded as a potential global medical breakthrough, amid predictions, drug-resistant infections could lead to 10 million deaths worldwide per year by 2050 unless another treatment is found.

The research, recently published in the journal Communications Biology, is part of a collaboration between researchers in Queensland and Botanix Pharmaceuticals, which led to the first new class of antibiotics for resistant bacteria in 60 years.

“This is the first time that CBD has been shown to kill certain types of Gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria have an additional outer membrane, an additional line of defense that makes it harder for antibiotics to penetrate, ”Institute of Molecular Biosciences director Dr. Mark Blaskovich said in a statement.

Researchers have also found that cannabidiol is effective in killing the superbug MRSA found in Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.

It can also be used to treat infected diabetic ulcers and wounds.

“Cannabidiol showed a low tendency to induce resistance in bacteria, even when we accelerated the potential development by increasing the levels of the antibiotic during ‘treatment’, added Dr Blaskovich.

“We believe cannabidiol kills bacteria by bursting their outer cell membranes, but we don’t know exactly how it does this yet, and we need to do more research.

Further trials of CBD formulations are currently underway.

“We believe we can design a different version of CBD that can have systemic activity,” Dr Blaskovich told the Courier Mail.

“We want something that doesn’t break down in the body as quickly as CBD. There is certainly potential here that CBD could be a prototypical representative of a new class of antibiotics.

Botanix President Vince Ippolito described the research in Queensland as a major breakthrough.

“The published data clearly establishes the potential of synthetic cannabinoids as antimicrobials,” said Mr. Ippolito.

“Our company is now ready to commercialize viable antimicrobial treatments that we hope will reach more patients in the near future. This is a major breakthrough that the world needs now.

The pharmaceutical company will now advance a topical formulation of CBD into clinical trials.

“These Phase 2a clinical results are expected early this year and we hope this will pave the way for treatments for gonorrhea, meningitis and legionellosis,” said Dr Blaskovich.

“Now that we have established that cannabidiol is effective against these Gram-negative bacteria, we are examining its mode of action, improving its activity and finding other similar molecules to pave the way for a new class of antibiotics.

Dr Blaskovich estimates that it will be 10 to 15 years before it becomes an approved antibiotic if further trials are successful.