Medicinal Cannabis Innovation Hub

Cannasouth is a Science-Led company with ongoing commercially focused research programmes targeted at developing next-generation medicinal cannabis products and valuable IP.

Medicinal cannabis research is at the heart of what we do and is a core value in our companies’ vision. We have extensive research programmes making Cannasouth the leader in the New Zealand medicinal cannabis industry.

Cannasouth has a commercially focused R&D facility based in New Zealand that is involved in multiple areas of research, from chemistry (identification, extraction, and isolation of bioactive compounds) to biological sciences (preclinical investigations) and new product development (drug delivery technology).

Our R&D Team includes highly qualified and experienced scientists with GMP and pharmaceutical R&D experience. Our research laboratories are equipped with advanced technology for targeting and isolating cannabinoids to feed into our formulation and clinical development programmes.

Cannasouth has been successful in achieving significant Government funding via Callaghan Innovation for many of our research initiatives. This research, combined with our preclinical studies, allows Cannasouth to search for genuine, unique IP opportunities, develop clinical trial strategies, and develop innovative new products and formulations for local and export markets.

Cannasouth R&D team is currently working with Government funding via Callaghan Innovation and in collaboration with academic centers of excellence in New Zealand in the following areas:

*Student employed into full-time R&D position (Callaghan Career Grant).

Cannabinoid Chemistry (Ph.D.). 
This project covers the science of extraction, fractionation, purification, and degradation dynamics of specific phytocannabinoid compounds and chemicals found naturally in cannabis.
It involves the use of leading-edge purification technology able to separate all the major and minor cannabinoids to upwards of 99%+ purity.

Tissue Culture & Medicinal Cannabis (M.Sc.).

In-vitro tissue culture (micropropagation) of cannabis offers many potential advantages over the more widely used cutting-based method for producing clonal cannabis plants.
Tissue culture enables superior genetic stability, cultivar storage enhancement, and aseptic culture free of pests and disease.

Cannabinoids & Neuropathic Pain (Ph.D.).

This research is focused on neuropathic pain and cannabinoid compound efficacy validation.
The aim is to assess the efficacy of discrete bioactive compounds extracted from cannabis in preclinical models of neuropathic pain to define optimal formulations, dosage, and relevant clinical indications.

 

Computational Chemistry (M.Sc.)

This project aims to gain an understanding of bioactive compounds from cannabis and their interaction with biological receptors.
This will help identify new and existing molecules’ biological activity and pharmacology and direct future clinical research.

Drug Delivery 

This internal project aims to identify advanced drug delivery technologies to enhance the performance of medicinal cannabis products.  The focus is on improving bioavailability, safety, and patient compliance with novel formulations and alternative routes of delivery.

Masters – CBD Purification

This Masters study involved raw cannabis compounds purified via analytical and preparative HPLC systems.

Fractions were screened by 1H NMR spectroscopy and analysed by GC mass spectrometry resulting in the production of high purity 99%+ compounds of CBD, CBDA, THC & THCA produced from Cannasouth’s New Zealand growing trials.

To identify and extract bioactive molecules, assess their therapeutic potential, and develop new human and veterinary medicines to improve patient outcomes.

Our laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to efficiently extract a wide range of bioactive compounds from plants.. We have in-house expertise to design and develop new drug delivery systems and pharmaceutical finished products, but we also believe in the power of collaboration and are currently working with several academic institutes.

Please contact us if you are interested in discussing new research opportunities.