MedPharm awarded grant for first-of-its-kind study of potency in full range of cannabis products
MedPharm, a leading medical cannabis manufacturer, R&D laboratory, and compounding facility, announces that the company has been awarded a research grant from the state of Colorado to begin a three-year study to evaluate potency in cannabis.
This study will evaluate and compare cannabinoid product label claims to the actual cannabinoid content found in the product. The focus is to identify trends in interlaboratory consistency, shelf life, and label accuracy within product categories. The study, “Is what you see what you get? A systematic public health-driven analysis of cannabis product label claims vs. actual cannabinoid content,” comes at a time when the cannabis industry continues to struggle with product claims and consistency as the industry matures.
The results of the MedPharm study will be of particular importance to medical cannabis patients, regulators and scientists who are responsible for making important decisions on the industry’s direction. “The proposed work will allow a direct comparison of product content to product labels, enabling an independent quantification of any systematic biases that may exist across product types or testing facilities,” Dr. Tyrell Towle, Director of Chemistry at MedPharm, says. Dr. Towle leads the extraction and analytical chemistry operations at MedPharm, and was granted a patent in April, 2018 (US Patent # 9937218) in cannabis extraction and safety. He is also the co-founder of the group Cannabis Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CANN-STEM), a networking group in Seattle, Washington that aims to increase cannabis science knowledge-sharing. “The resulting information from the study will be highly relevant to our state’s testing policies and procedures, as well as to our patient/consumer community,” Towle says.
Over the course of three years, the project will involve 480 authentic cannabis products randomly selected and purchased from state licensed retail dispensaries. Each product will be independently and blindly analyzed for cannabinoid content, with results sent to state policymakers and the public.
The proposed work represents a novel collaboration between cannabis scientists at a Colorado University and MedPharm. “No prior study has systematically tested the full range of cannabis products sold in our state retail market,” Towle wrote in the abstract for the study.
The project is seen as another crucial step in providing more accurate information for the cannabis industry, with the goal of creating new standards for cannabinoid testing and accurate dosing based on the findings of qualified scientific research.
About MedPharm:
MedPharm has a 15,000-square-foot manufacturing, research and development laboratory and cannabis processing facility in Denver, Colorado. Since beginning operations in 2017, MedPharm has grown to a staff of 44 people. The company provides cannabis pharmaceutical-type products in a certified current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) facility that includes cultivation, pre-formulation, formulation development, small scale commercial manufacturing, analytical method development and validation, routine quality control analysis and stability studies. MedPharm creates pharmaceutical-grade dosage forms and produces ingredients utilizing pharmaceutical technology to be used in the delivery of cannabis compounds. MedPharm specializes in neuropharmacology with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. MedPharm received the first cannabis research license issued to the state of Colorado in October, 2018. MedPharm Research, a wholly owned subsidiary, also has pending federal applications for Bulk Manufacturing and Schedule I Research licenses to provide and use cannabis and cannabis dosage forms for research purposes. MedPharm was also recently granted a patent for a unique powdered cannabinoid and terpene extract. More information can be found about MedPharm at: www.medpharmholdings.com.