Aurora cannabis partners with UFC for clinical CBD trials on athletes
Aurora Cannabis Inc.(NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB) and UFC announced this week, the launch of a joint clinical research program.
The research will examine the use of hemp-derived CBD as an effective treatment for pain, inflammation, wound-healing, and recovery on MMA athletes.
The partnership aims to help understand and explain key health and recovery needs of elite athletes. Data collected during the research study will be used in the development of hemp-derived CBD topicals.
Research coincides with and directly contributes to to the launch of ROAR Sports.
ROAR will serve as Aurora’s athletic brand, marketed as scientifically formulated CBD products with elite athletes in mind. ROAR will also be branded as the “Official CBD product of UFC.”
The multi-phase clinical study will take place at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas and will be led by Dr. Jason Dyck, Chair of Aurora’s Global Scientific Oversight Committee; Dr. Kelly Narine, Aurora’s Vice President Global Research and Medical Affairs; and a team from the UFC Performance Institute, led by Dr. Duncan French, UFC Vice President of Performance.
The study will accept volunteer athletes from the active UFC roster, and will help establish peer-reviewed, publishable research.
All products developed by ROAR will be fully compliant with U.S. federal law and with UFC’s anti-doping program, which adheres to WADA and USADA regulations.
“Our partnership with UFC is about committing to the science that will educate and advocate,” said Aurora CEO Terry Booth. “We are going to work together to change the way people think, to change the industry, and to launch the first hemp-derived CBD products that are backed by scientific research. The brand-building and product development are all part of our move into the U.S., and in collaboration with UFC, and we intend to play a major role in that market.”
“We know anecdotally that professional athletes across sports disciplines are turning to hemp-derived CBD treatments to assist with physical recovery, with varying degrees of success,” added Jason Dyck, Chair of Aurora’s Global Scientific Oversight Committee. “The work we do in partnership with UFC will create an evidence-based, science-backed pipeline of consistent, and ‘clean’ hemp-derived CBD topicals that the high-performance athletes of UFC can rely on to treat the pain, inflammation, injury and other conditions associated with competing at such a high level.”
“Collaborating with Aurora is the best way to educate ourselves and our fighters about the impact of CBD on MMA athletes and our sport,” said Dr. Duncan French, UFC’s Vice President of Performance. “We want to apply science and see where it leads us. Ideally, these studies will give us the clarity we need to determine n the effectiveness of hemp-derived CBD on athlete health and injury recovery.”
“Although CBD is allowed under USADA and WADA regulations, we want to be the leaders on educating UFC athletes on CBD use,” said Jeff Novitzky, UFC Senior Vice President of Athlete Health & Performance. “Athlete safety is a top priority for UFC, and we will collaborate with Aurora to ensure that any new products are third-party tested for all WADA-prohibited substances to make certain they meet WADA standards.”