Here’s the latest CBD news:

• A recent Leafreport investigation points to lower, but extremely varied prices across CBD brands.
• A weight loss product made with cannabinoid precursors called “varin compounds” was found to stimulate weight loss in 100 of 100 trial participants.
• Drug developer Receptor Life Sciences has been given clearance by the FDA to research and develop a potentially FDA-approved CBD drug for autism-related irritability. 

Table of Contents

1. Year-Over-Year CBD Prices Have Dropped, Research Finds
2. Clinical Trial Demonstrates Hemp Product’s Efficacy for Weight Loss
3. Receptor Life Sciences Study Will Develop CBD Product for Autism-Related Irritability

Year-Over-Year CBD Prices Have Dropped, Research Finds

With fewer objective standards to anchor to price (thanks to no FDA regulation) and an arsenal of buzzwords to justify premiums, the CBD space has seen its share of lofty and unpredictable pricing over the past several years.

But the driver of free market success—competition—is doing its thing, implies this Leafreport study, which found that many high-quality brands are dropping their prices.

Specifically, the year-over-year price comparison for reviewed brands was reported as an 11.25% drop. 

After reviewing more than 3,200 products from 137 well-established CBD brands, here’s what else Leafreport found regarding pricing practices across the industry:

• The highest discrepancy between the cheapest and most expensive CBD product (of the same type) among reviewed brands was 4,718%
• CBD isolate is the cheapest product category
• Pet edibles is the most expensive product category
• The largest price reduction by product type was observed in CBD topicals, which dropped by almost 20% from last year.

Of course, competition is one of many factors influencing these numbers, as product quality, new innovations in CBD delivery and supporting ingredients, and other changes hit the market. 

Clinical Trial Demonstrates Hemp Product’s Efficacy for Weight Loss

Enlighten Hemp, a subsidiary of whole-hemp extract company ECS Brands, announced this week the results of a 90-day clinical trial assessing the weight loss potential of Nitro-V^TM, an Enlighten Hemp product marketed to control appetite and balance metabolism.

These benefits are allegedly conferred by the high “varin cannabinoid” content in the product; varin cannabinoids are precursors to more popular cannabinoids like CBD (CBDV: cannabidivarin) and CBG (CBGV: cannabigerovarin). 

Per the 90-day, 125-human-subject, double-blind trial sponsored by the National Institute of Health, each of the 100 participants who took Nitro-V^TM demonstrated an average BMI decrease of three points and weight loss of up to 22 pounds. 

Additionally, subjective measures found a 61% decrease in hunger, 40% fewer food cravings, and a 52% decrease in anxiety among trial participants. 

In contrast, 64% of control group participants either maintained their weight or gained weight, and BMI was relatively fixed. 

The Nitro-V^TM hemp extract was well-tolerated, and unlike competing products, was sourced from legal, industrial hemp (and not synthetic products or illegal marijuana). 

After announcing the FDA’s acceptance of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for RLS102, their new CBD-based drug, Receptor Life Sciences immediately began a formulation selection study, which will determine the best formulation to be used in further research and development.

Receptor is aiming to treat autism-related irritability, for which there is no FDA-approved treatment, using this product.

RLS102 contains synthetic cannabidiol and an FDA-approved bioavailability booster called SNAC, which was proven in a proof-of-concept clinical study to dramatically improve CBD absorption over non-enhanced CBD.

Receptor also hopes to take the guesswork out of CBD dosing with this technology, as cannabinoid absorption following RLS102 ingestion was much more predictable than standard CBD products.

If all goes according to plan with the formulation study, Receptor plans to continue through the research pipeline required for FDA approval and bringing the product to market, which means human clinical studies.