Avicanna Inc (TSX:AVCN, OTCQX:AVCNF) said it has entered into a research collaboration focused on the company’s proprietary formulations and pharmaceutical pipeline with the Applied Research Centre at Langara College, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based college that provides university-level education.
The collaboration is supported by a two-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada starting in the second quarter of 2023.
The company said its research and development (R&D) team would be collaborating with Dr. Jessica Kalra’s group at the College to perform expanded in vitro and in vivo research of Avicanna’s drug delivery systems and commercial formulations including under the RHO Phyto brand.
A research scientist in the Applied Research Centre in Langara College, assistant professor of teaching in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical at the University of British Columbia, and a staff scientist in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Dr. Kalra has over 20 years of experiencing in drug discovery, and cell and molecular research, Avicanna highlighted.
The goal of the collaboration is to gain a better understanding of the absorption, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the formulations, which may contribute towards product pipeline developments, the company said.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Dr. Kalra’s group and look forward to creating a deeper understanding of our proprietary cannabinoid formulations which may yield advancements in our drug candidates,” Avicanna executive vice president of R&D Dr. Frantz Le Devedec said in a statement.
Dr. Kalra added: “It is a very exciting time to be researching non-psychoactive pharmaceutically relevant cannabinoids, their impact on the body and how they can be best formulated to provide optimal therapeutic activity. Our team is delighted to have this opportunity to work with Avicanna to support the translation of cannabinoids from bench to bedside.”
Avicanna is a commercial-stage international biopharmaceutical company focused on the advancement and commercialization of evidence-based cannabinoid-based products for the global medical and pharmaceutical market segments.
Contact the author at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @emilyjjarvie