LONDON – Glass Pharms and the Advanced Plant Growth Centre at The James Hutton Institute are to conduct a ground-breaking medical cannabis research program that has been funded by UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
The three-year project will aim to support the growing need for medicinal cannabis by helping standardise the product to meet pharmaceutical quality though environment manipulation and the development of new cannabis plant architectures.
Currently cannabis varieties, or cultivars, vary greatly creating different cannabinoid profiles. The research in Dundee will aim to use Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies to create a consistent product and help the UK to maintain its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of medicinal cannabis.
The plants will be grown to maturity at Glass Pharms’ purpose-built 2.4-hectare semi-closed glasshouse facility that has advanced sensor technology tracking environmental conditions and plant growth with a robotics-based container system that moves the plants through the different climate zones within the glasshouse suitable to their developmental stage to optimise consistent growth across multiple harvests.
The research will be led by Professor Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, who commented:
“This is an exciting project for the James Hutton Institute team to be involved with. We will play an important role in furthering pharmaceutical quality of these plants, reinforcing the UK’s importance on the world stage.”
James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms said “We believe that working with the Advanced Plant Growth Centre on this research project will directly lead to better health outcomes for UK patients. The APGC and Glass Pharms’ advanced cultivation facility is the ideal combination to develop and stabilise cannabis cultivars intended for use in medicine.”
Medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018 and is set to become an increasingly important part of UK life sciences research and medicine manufacturing.
About the James Hutton Institute
The James Hutton Institute is a leading UK research organisation dedicated to the sustainable use of land and natural resources. It aims to support economic growth, enhance food security, and drive the development of rural communities through cutting-edge scientific research and innovations. The Advanced Plant Growth Centre is a flagship project at the Hutton which has received investment through the Tay Cities Region Deal.
About BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is a major funder of world-leading bioscience in the UK.
As part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), it plays a pivotal role in fostering connections that enable the UK’s world-class research and innovation system to flourish. It also has the responsibility to enable the creation of a research culture that is diverse, resilient, and engaged.
About Glass Pharms
Glass Pharms is a UK-based licensed cultivator of cannabis exclusively for the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Glass Pharms was established to meet patient demand for dependable supply of high-quality, UK produced, cannabis-based medicines, at a fair price.
It achieves this aim using a talented growing team and a patent-pending continuous cultivation system which robotically takes the plants on a 12-week journey, through various climate chambers, to create an accelerated simulation of a growing year. This innovative environment uses about 40% of the power compared to traditional indoor growing facilities and is powered by off-grid green energy.
About the Tay Cities Region Deal
The Tay Cities Region Deal is a partnership between local, Scottish and UK governments and the private, academic and voluntary sectors which seeks to create a smarter and fairer Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross.
