Abstract:

The Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations provides the framework for legal access to cannabis and control and regulate its production, distribution and sale. As part of it’s commitment to support and facilitate research and testing with cannabis the Government has created under this framework distinct licences for research and analytical testing. To provide guidance to stakeholders and applicants, Health Canada recently published the Cannabis Licencing Application Guide: Research and the Application requirements for cannabis analytical testing under the Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations. This presentation will include an overview of the application requirements and the process involved in becoming a research and/or analytical testing licence holder under the Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations.

Present by: Céline Beaupré, Manager of Specialized Authorization, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada

The current status of clinical data trials for an international Medical Cannabis

Present by: Martha Smit, Partner, Qualified registered nurse and lawyer, Fasken, Johannesburg

Updated review of the CARE-E study

Present by: Dr. Richard J. Huntsman, MD, FRCP(C), CSCN(EEG), Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital , Foundation, University of Saskatchewan

• Cannabis use is growing in the senior population – is the Canadian healthcare system keeping pace ?
• Cannabis use vs pharmaceutical use : patient experiences and risks
• Challenges with cannabis research : practical and theoretical

Present by: Dr. Jamie R. Cox, MD

A growing number of pediatricians in Canada report that children and young adults are using cannabis for a variety of medical purposes including cancer symptoms, pain, sleep and neurological conditions among others. This talk will cover

• Perspectives on cannabis use for child health concerns
• The need for clinical trials
• Steps forward to evidence-based medical cannabis use in children

Present by: Dr. Lauren E Kelly, Ph.D., M.Sc., C.C.R.P., University of Manitoba, Canadian Childhood Cannabinoid Clinical Trails, Centre for Healthcare Innovation

• Phytochemistry of cannabis
• Trends in developing cannabis plant genetics
• Trends in the biosynthesis of cannabinoids
• Trends in the biosynthesis of non-cannabinoid phytochemicals

Present by: Dr. Yang Qu, assistant professor and Cannabis Health Research Chair at University of New Brunswick

Present by: Dr. Lucas C. McCann, MSc., BSc., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, CannDelta Inc.

With the restrictions on cannabinoid research finally easing off we are learning more and more about the therapeutic properties of cannabis beyond THC and CBD. New data shines the light at the vast potential minor cannabinoids may carry.

• Existing data on efficacy of minor cannabinoids
• Pharma and biotech interest in minor cannabinoid drug development
• Cannabinoid biosynthesis feasible for production of minor cannabinoids
• Discovery and characterization of novel cannabinoid molecules

Present by: Dr. Olga Chernoloz, Specialist in Neuropsychopharmacology, Head of Omnica Biotech

“Although the Cannabis Industry is in its infancy Cannabis it has been described as one of “humanities older crops”. It has many ancient uses and referenced in several historical texts including Materia Medica from China and India as well as ancient Egyptian Papyrus. Historically it has been used therapeutically for centuries and is still being used for many ailments, without any evidence bar anecdotal or traditional use.

The Canadian market has seen cannabis prescription drugs, smokable bud and vapes and more recently edibles and topicals all of which have not provided consumers with an alternative to black market products that have been used for therapeutic purposes. Cannabis Health Products frameworks, however, does provide an opportunity for safe, effective and quality products to come to the market.

Development pipelines not only need to consider the same challenges that other cannabis product categories have reported, for example contamination, formulation and ingredient stability and homogeneity, but will also studies related to safety and efficacy”.

Particularly this presentation will focus on ingredient and formulation complexities in the development of cannabis shelf stable products.

Present by: Sharan Sidhu, Chief Scientific Officer & Director of Regulatory Affairs, Pacific Rim Innovations

REMS is a drug safety program the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can require for certain medications, which have been determined to have safety concerns to ensure the benefits of the therapy outweigh its risks.

Traditional views regarding REMS programs primarily concerned highly addictive drugs, such as opiates. However, with the increasing number of cannabis therapies, i.e., medical marijuana prescriptions for therapeutic applications, there is a need to consider dependence on cannabis in all of its forms for medicinal use.

This presentation discusses:

• Emerging REMS-type programs for cannabis therapies
• Development of a shared system for REMS for cannabis therapies
• The decisions that need to be made in order to promote positive REMS enforcement to patients

Present by: Dr. Willis H. Thomas, PhD, PMP, CPT, PQE Group

As the cannabis industry continues to change, what is considered to be a desired product will change as well, creating a need for the ability to produce said products. This talk will cover

• Isolating one or multiple cannabinoids from full spectrum extract
• The remediation of harmful compounds such as pesticides and fungicides from extracts
• The ability to grow from pilot to industrial scale without any significant losses

Present by: Dr. Lalit Chordia, Founder and CEO, Thar Process, Inc.