Cannabidiol (CBD) for clozapine refractory schizophrenia (CanCloz)

Treatment refractory schizophrenia (TRS) is a debilitating disorder that affects one in three adults with schizophrenia. Clozapine is the only antipsychotic licenced for TRS and can transform these people’s lives. However, only 40% of patients achieve an adequate response. There is an urgent need for novel, safe and effective clozapine augmentation agents.

Cannabidiol, a psychoactive derivative of cannabis, has shown promise as a safe treatment for people with schizophrenia. To date, however, it has not been trialled in people with clozapine refractory schizophrenia.

The CanCloz trial is an investigator-initiated multi-centre double-blind randomised placebo-controlled pilot trial to assess the safety and tolerability of CBD for psychotic symptoms among people with schizophrenia refractive to clozapine.

Funding
PA Research Foundation

Investigators

• Prof Dan Siskind (Lead Investigator)
• Ms Andrea Baker – clinical trials coordinator
• Associate Professor Nicola Warren – neuropsychiatrist
• Prof Iain McGregor, The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, School of Psychology, University of Sydney

Study site
Princess Alexandra Hospital Southside Clinical Unit