Cannabinoid Research

Cannabinoids, as represented by THC and CBD, are no longer illegal drugs, but are a part of current and ongoing research in the biotech sector and are recognized as having potential as active ingredients in clinical research. Modern research and application no longer focus on the plant or its extracts alone, but on the entire chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical spectrum of the plant in order to explore new therapeutic concepts and synthetic cannabinoid derivatives for the treatment of glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, emesis, etc. MIND Bioscience taking this development head on and, as a cannabis tech company, is making contributions to fulfil the desire and need for new cannabinoids.

Going with us

  • Let´s work out smarter routes to let the beauty of cannabinoids explode

    Biotechnical and chemical production of more diverse cannabinoids and derivatives structurally covering the main chemical classes.

  • Let´s make more out of the good stuff

    Technical production in the upper kg scale for further processing in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics

  • Let´s make better, water-soluble cannabinoids

    Biotechnical development and production of water-soluble cannabinoids

  • Let´s discover cannabinoids as new drug candidates

    Development of orally and topically dosed forms for cannabinoids

Biotechnology

With partners in academia at TU Dortmund, MIND Bioscience has created the basis to assert itself in the competitive environment of cannabis biotechnology. Currently, a genetically modified yeast is available, which has a very high biosynthetic capacity for THC, CBD, CBC and CBG. MIND Bioscience will use the biotech prototype to launch its product in 2021.

Currently, full biosynthesis is mapped in yeast and can be extended with additional enzymes to form human metabolites, non-natural cannabinoids but also structurally related cannabinoids from other plants. The question facing MIND Bioscience is not whether biosynthesis is possible for these derivatives, but how it can be dramatically increased. MIND Bioscience is addressing this challenge through metabolic engineering, protein engineering, and powerful bioinformatics. Currently, the biosynthetic capacity for precursors is 48 mg/L/h for OA, 30 mg/L/H for CBG and 18 mg/L/h for THC. The massive increase in biosynthetic performance is through the use of bioinformatics such as transcriptome-based biongineering. With engineering methods of modeling and optimization of process parameters (O2, pH, temp, glucose, …), fermentation is performed using a 10-50 L pilot plant scale.

Synthesis

Using proprietary synthesis strategies, the synthesis of the main cannabinoids is 100% THC free. With regard to the chemical diversity of the cannabis plant, seven main chemical structural groups are known. Through the use of organic chemistry, all major chemical structures can be represented today in the amount of 100 g or more. Currently, MIND Biosciene has a compound library of 50 cannabinoids. This is outstanding, since currently about 130 cannabinoids are known, of which about 50 cannabinoids show only slight structural variants such as methoxylations, oxidations, rearrangements. Against this background, all important cannabinoids are accessible at MIND Bioscience. In addition to these natural cannabinoids, MIND Bioscience also has non-natural structural analogues such as cannabinoids with shortened side chains C0, C1, C3, structural isomers and water-soluble derivatives. Upscaling of the synthesis to the kg scale is possible at any time.

Cannabinomics

Identifying metabolic fluxes and so-called bottlenecks, where fluxes are not optimal, is possible using informatics and AI. MIND Biosience has comprehensive in silico models on high performance computers used to calculate the distribution and metabolism of metabolites in yeast such as E. coli. Through simulations, metabolic networks can be exposed or altered to develop proposals for genetic manipulations in metabolic engineering.

Protein engineering is another pillar of MIND Bioscience in optimizing yeast for cannabinoid production. Using commercial chemical modeling software and proprietary algorithms, biosynthetically relevant enzymes are re-examined, compared to analogous structures in nature, and structurally modified to dramatically increase biocatalysis. For example, using state-of-the-art technology, an eightfold increase in the mevalonate pathway, a 30-fold increase in NphB turnover, and a 5-fold increase in prenyl trasnferases have been achieved compared to wild types. The entirety of bioinformatics in the field of systems biotechnology and protein engineering is referred to as cannabinomics at MIND Bioscience.

Drug Discovery

Cannabinoids have changed the view of systems pharmacology, as the effects of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) need to be reevaluated. Also of particular importance is the effect of cannabinoids on additional receptors and ion channels that have been almost unknown. With academic partners, MIND Bioscience has tested their compound library on CB1 and CB2 with very interesting hits and will file them as patents. These results will change the treatment in ophthalmology and pain medicine.