Biotica to Build Drug Dev. and Mnfg. Facility

HempTech Corp., a provider of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with sophisticated automation and analytical tools for the cultivators of legal industrial hemp and marijuana, has agreed to build a drug development and manufacturing facility for Biotica Pharmaceuticals beginning second quarter 2017. The new drug development and manufacturing facility will contain grow, lab extraction and laboratory capabilities.

HempTech will use its most sophisticated grow system, the grow droid, in conjunction with CognetiX for development and delivery of pharmaceutical grade strains for use of medical discovery by Biotica. According to the company, HempTech is the only cannabis grow technology provider offering advanced CEA and sophisticated analytics for development of pharmaceutical grade marijuana strains for pharmaceuticals globally.

Biotica Pharmaceuticals has developed BPRx Technology, which is a novel combinatorial library of phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids for treating various human diseases. Biotica’s current technology includes: BPRx-060216, a lead drug candidate to treat eosinopilic esophagitis (EoE); and BPRx-060234, a lead drug candidate to treat early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Biotica, a privately held pharmaceutical company, has applied for two worldwide patent rights for the platform technologies and for specific novel drug formulations.

“We are on mark to have an amazing year in 2017,” said HempTech’s acting chief executive officer, Sam Talari. “With expected legal and recreational cannabis market to reach billions of dollars in coming years, we will be positioned to capitalize on this tremendous opportunity.”