As reported by NewsWeed
SIX months after obtaining ANSM (French Agency for the Safety of Health products) approval and raising €2.5 million, Overseed is launching a new research and development program in the cultivation of medical cannabis.
In doing so it has become the first company to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes in France.
By the end of the year, the biotech firm aims to select five plants on which its first pharmaceutical trials will be initiated.
Research Runs
After receiving its authorisation to legally conduct research on cannabis for therapeutic purposes for the first time, Overseed began its first agronomic phase of phenotyping plants two months ago.
This process aims to select plants with precise agronomic criteria and phytochemical profiles, which will guarantee the stability of production and the reliability of cannabis varieties.
In the second phase, the production of these varieties will be tested in a controlled climate to ensure the stability and homogeneity of the plants.
This research and development programme, the first of its kind in the country, is due to be completed some time in 2023, coinciding with the completion of an ANSM medical cannabis pilot project.
Production Runs
By the end of 2022, the Overseed team plans to select five varieties of plants that meet the requirements to start the “pharmaceutical run” phase.
The process of extracting the active ingredients from the cannabis plant will then make it possible to develop new drugs that meet the specifications of the ANSM.
Overseed will develop its extracts with Stanipharm CDMO, an expert in the production of active ingredients, in particular by supercritical CO2 extraction.
“We are very excited to begin this complex agronomic and scientific process that is critical to future drug development. In the coming months, our experts in genetics and cultivation techniques will be fully invested in bringing to medical research as well as to our partners, all the potential of this plant,” said Hugues Péribère, founder and CEO of Overseed, in a press release. .
“It is also a further step for the French pharmaceutical industry, its sovereignty and its ability to respond to the many medical uses of cannabis. Through our project, we combine the best French expertise to create an innovative and efficient value chain in the territory. The next few months will be devoted to the search for operating laboratory partners and distributors”.
