Canopy Health Innovations (CHI), the recently formed research incubator partly owned by Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED), has entered into a three-year consulting agreement with EPIC Consulting Inc., the Quebec-based consulting firm of Dr. Mark Ware.
Canopy Health Innovations was established to research and develop clinically ready cannabis drug formulations and delivery systems for both human and/or animal patients targeting unmet medical needs in traditional pharmaceutical markets that could be disrupted by cannabis-based options. Under a framework agreement with CHI, Canopy Growth retains the right of first refusal to commercialize all resulting intellectual property developed by CHI globally.
“Canadian policy and regulations around cannabis are very progressive when compared to other jurisdictions around the world,” said Marc Wayne, President and Director of CHI. “We have a unique opportunity here in Canada to study cannabis and develop products that will change the world. Bringing Dr. Ware in at this exciting moment to consult on our clinical research strategy is an important step towards our vision of bringing validated cannabis medicines to market as quickly as possible.”
Ware has been conducting medical cannabis research in Canada for more than 19 years and brings considerable expertise in the design of high quality clinical studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids.
“I am pleased to support the work that CHI is doing to develop cannabinoid medicines, and to help generate important data for patients and health care providers regarding the safety and efficacy of cannabis-based therapies” stated Ware. “EPIC was established to guide organizations in identifying and developing credible and evidence-based approaches to address the considerable gaps that currently exist in our understanding of the safe use of cannabis”.