A UK-based multi-year medical cannabis research project has successfully secured £350k in funding.
The James Hutton Institute, an independent scientific research organisation based in Scotland has announced a new swathe of funding for a number of advanced agricultural research projects.
A large chunk of the total £2.4m in funding is set to go towards a ‘pioneering’ medical cannabis research initiative in Dundee, aimed at standardising the product to meet exacting pharmaceutical standards.
Glass Pharms, which is a partner in the project, told Business of Cannabis: “I think this is really important because it’s a vote of confidence from UKRI and BBRSC that what we’re doing represents UK innovation at its best, specifically in advanced horticulture.
“It’s not just about making identical plants; it’s about ensuring the best possible cultivars for medicinal use.”
The research
The project is one of three that secured funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Now, the James Hutton Institute’s newly established Advanced Plant Growth Centre (APGC), situated at its Invergowrie site, will launch a three-year research project called Exploiting Controlled Environments for the Development of Optimised Cannabis Sativa Phenotypes for Pharmaceutical Applications (or CE-CannPharm).
Recognising the growing need for pharmaceutical-quality medical cannabis across the globe, the project will explore the impact of environmental manipulation and develop new cannabis plant architectures in an effort to enhance the standardisation.
Glass Pharms, which, as previously reported by Business of Cannabis, has recently finished construction on its state-of-the-art growing facility, will grow the plants until maturity in its glasshouse.
The project will examine the use of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), ultising Glass Pharms’ advanced sensor technology to track environmental conditions and plant growth to optimise consistent growth across multiple harvests.
In doing so, the project aims to establish the optimum conditions for cannabis growth which negate the vast differences between different cannabis varieties, cultivars, and growing regions that impact the cannabinoid profiles.
“The Advanced Plant Growth Centre will conduct detailed rounds of research focusing on various aspects of cannabis plants—such as stability, cannabinoid profiles, and active compounds like terpenes,” Glass Pharms’ Mark Heley explained.
Once these plants are fine-tuned, they will be grown to maturity at Glass Pharms’ facility.
A win for UK-based research
Cannabis research in the UK continues to be a rarity, especially for medicinal purposes, despite it now being legalised for more than five years.
While this project is focused on cultivation, the researchers hope it could play a crucial role in advancing the wider industry, potentially contributing to future NHS considerations.
“We’ve been working on putting together a research project in this area for some time. We’ve conducted similar research with other organizations before opening the facility,” Mr Heley continued.
“When we looked at the grant funding proposal from the BBSRC, we saw it as an opportunity to conduct world-class horticultural research on medical cannabis.
“While the grant wasn’t specific to medical cannabis, it wasn’t excluded either, unlike some funding from other bodies like DEFRA via UKRI. We were pleased to see that openness with the BBSRC.”
Beyond helping ensure ‘better health outcomes for UK patients’, the research will also help solidify the UK as a leader in the still emerging cannabis research space.
Professor Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, who is leading the project, said: “This is an exciting project for the James Hutton Institute team to be involved with.
“Medicinal cannabis is an increasingly important remedy and is becoming key in alleviating degenerative and neurodegenerative/dysfunctional diseases.
“We will play an important role in furthering the pharmaceutical quality of these plants, reinforcing the UK’s importance on the world stage.”
