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news.Plandaí Biotechnology (PLPL) has announced that the Government of Uruguay, through its Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), granted Plandai Biotechnology Uruguay S.A. a provisional license under the Marijuana and Derivates Law 19.172, Decree No.46/2015, Articles 6 and 9, to establish a scientific program for the research, and development of prescription cannabinoid medicines.
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The Company’s legal counsel, Ferrere Abogados of Montevideo, Uruguay, represented the Company throughout the licensing process. The Company’s license is provisional and subject to the Company submitting additional information to the IRCCA within 90 days in order to finalize issuance of the license.
The Company, in conjunction with its counsel, expects to submit all required paperwork to the IRCCA in a timely fashion and will update shareholders on its progress.
Once issued, the Company’s license will allow it to undertake in vitro and murine investigations, extending to human studies once the initial research has been completed.
Previously, Uruguay’s Ministry of Health granted the Company permission to grow, harvest and process live cannabis for the formulation of Phytofare cannabinoid complexes on September 16, 2014.
Dr. Mercedes Gonzalez, a Professor of Organic Chemistry, and the Director of the Research Group of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of the Republic, Uruguay, will be the Scientific Director of the Plandaí Cannabis Research Project.
The Project parameters are defined in an agreement between Plandai Uruguay, the Foundation for the Development of Basic Sciences, and the University’s Group of Medicinal Chemistry, and it includes ownership by Plandai USA of all new scientific discoveries and intellectual property resulting from the Project.
The project will be undertaken in a new, secure and dedicated scientific building that will be constructed at the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) Research Park, Montevideo, which will support a team of scientists, technicians and agronomists specializing in cannabis research and husbandry.
Ms. Victoria Vergara, Esq. of Ferrere Abogados of Montevideo, Uruguay, commented: "We are proud to have been involved in representing Plandai Uruguay during this process and we expect to be able to supply all of the necessary information within the 90 day window."
The Project will focus solely on non-psychoactive cannabis drug chemistry containing a complex of cannabinoids, cannabinoid acids and other phytonutrients. Product profiling will include bioavailability and dosage; as well as safety and efficacy.
The medicinal studies will be initially investigated through in vitro and mouse modeling and will focus primarily with the brain signaling system to establish benefits and/or improvements to a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory.