Cannabis Therapy Corp. advised it is commencing exploratory laboratory research aimed at the development of cannabinoid-based products with potential application specific to inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. The company's strategic research plan is designed to establish a series of inflammation assays and models with the goal of developing a hemp-extract profiling platform.

This platform will enable identification and characterization of those hemp strains that are ideal for development of specific anti-inflammatory products. The extract profiling platform will play a key role in advancing new hemp-based products and in turning the company's current hemp crop into product prototypes for testing and manufacture. The proposed laboratory procedures include different cell based assays, which are designed to mimic key inflammatory processes.

Using these assays, it is possible to test and compare the anti-inflammatory effects of different cannabinoid-containing hemp extracts, and to benchmark these against reference compounds. The company is also planning experiments in laboratory models of rheumatoid arthritis with the goal of testing promising extracts for their potential application in this disease. The overall goal of these research activities will be to isolate and identify hemp extracts and cannabinoids with measurable anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory effects, and to develop products containing these extracts for launch into the nutraceutical market.