Neuraxpharm, a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company, today announces its “Change for Health” campaign that aims to increase the acceptance of medical cannabis and provide better information to patients, physicians and pharmacies.

Based on the concept “If we turn our back on medical cannabis, we turn our back on millions of patients” Neuraxpharm is fostering a change for health across society on medical cannabis as a treatment to help improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of patients. With this awareness campaign, Neuraxpharm wants to encourage healthcare professionals, regulators, patients, and the public to rethink their preconceptions about cannabis and embrace it as an effective, individualized treatment option.

At the heart of the campaign ‘Change for Health’ stands a video to raise awareness, a dedicated website www.neuraxpharm.com/change-for-health which explains the campaign background and educational materials such as crosswords and myths and facts. In Germany the campaign is being launched on the occasion of the German Pain Congress 2022 (Deutscher Schmerzkongress 2022) which is held from 19.-22. October 2022 in CC Rosengarten, Mannheim. At the congress the company is present with its own booth and will furthermore sponsor the symposium “Cannabinoids in pain treatments” to raise further awareness of this high-potential treatment approach. Neuraxpharm’s campaign will be implemented at European level, starting with Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and will be extended to more countries as their legislation evolves.

Already five years ago, medical cannabis was approved in Germany. Since then, demand has grown constantly. However, many doctors still seem to have reservations to prescribe medical cannabis or patients to take it, perhaps due to a lack of information. As a result, only one to two percent of physicians in Germany prescribe medical cannabis.¹ Moreover, the stigmatization of medical cannabis is still widely spread and access to it for patients in need is still difficult to obtain. In addition to a changed mindset, information on medical cannabis and the respective treatment options are key to improve patients’ access.

While a growing number of studies confirm the improvement of quality of life in many indications through medical cannabis, patients who are seeking pain therapy or suffer from other disorders such as anxiety or diseases like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis appear to find it difficult to obtain a prescription. According to experts, medical cannabis could help over 650,000 patients in Germany. However, there are currently only around 130,000 patients being treated.²

Dr. Jörg-Thomas Dierks, CEO of Neuraxpharm, commented: “Medical cannabis is still a sensitive topic surrounded by prejudices. With our campaign we want healthcare professionals, regulators, patients, and the public to rethink their perception of medical cannabis and how this treatment can help millions of patients with unmet medical needs. Because a change in our mindset towards medical cannabis will lead towards an improvement of patient’s health.”

Together with its partner, the Israel-based global pharma company Panaxia, Neuraxpharm is among the first pharmaceutical companies to make medical cannabis products available in Europe. The company offers an innovative and complete medical cannabis portfolio covering several patients’ needs and consisting of standardized full-spectrum CBD and THC extracts for oral, as well as for inhalative use, the latter being the first of its kind in Europe. As a well-established partner for pain specialists, neurologists and psychiatrists, Neuraxpharm ensures that its medical cannabis meets the highest quality and safety standards of a prescription medicine. Moreover, Neuraxpharm provides all relevant information to enable doctors to make tailor-made prescriptions and instructions for pharmacies on how to prepare the ready-to-use product. ¹