The Board of Zelda Therapeutics Ltd. provided an operational update for the three-month period to 31 December 2018. Zelda announced a new clinical trial partnership with the prestigious St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne to examine the potential to use certain cannabinoid medications in patients on chronic, high dose opioid pain management therapy. This joint clinical trial program is aimed at assisting patients who have become dependent on opioids for chronic pain management. An initial pharmacokinetic study will inform a small scale 20 patient double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled study, with the potential to expand into a larger trial depending on results. The clinical trial protocols are being finalised and remains on-track for submission to the human ethics committee during the first quarter of 2019. The trial is expected to commence immediately following approval from the committee. Prescription opioids are used to treat chronic pain and these drugs can have serious side effects including physical dependence, which is an acknowledged growing global crisis. Research shows a growing number of Australians receiving treatment for dependence on painkillers. The rate of accidental deaths due to opioids has doubled for Australians aged 35 to 44 since 2007. More than two thirds of these deaths have been due to pharmaceutical opioids.