Research
Providing unbiased evidence: Cutting edge research and quality assurance is key
Quality Assurance of Medicinal Plant products
The IPI is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of medicinal plant products and providing reference standards so healthcare providers and populations can prescribe or use medicinal plant products with confidence. Data and results generated at labs at top world institutions can be used to obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals
Flavonoids for treating pancreatic cancer
In 2019, IPI scientists at Harvard Medical school published studies showing that flavonoids from medical cannabis can significantly increase survival in animal models of pancreatic cancer. Ongoing work is advancing this work to clinical trials in collaboration with the company Flavocure Biotech. Ongoing work at Johns Hopkins and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is also investigating this for simultaneously targeting cancer and cancer pain
Research developing a blood subsitute from the Justicia plant
It is already well-established that plants, like humans, have hemoglobin genes. In plants, symbiotic, non-symbiotic, and truncated hemoglobins have been reported with different roles, such as nitrogen-fixing symbiosis, facilitation of oxygen diffusion in rapidly respiring plant cells, or as oxygen sensor. Despite gene expression in plants, the concentration level of hemoglobin in plant tissues (e.g., 0.03 g/dl) is orders of magnitude lower relative to human blood, which is typically above 10 g/dl. The wide array of biotic and abiotic factors that may influence expression of hemoglobins in plants makes it plausible that plants, under certain conditions, could adapt or develop high level of hemoglobin gene expression in its tissues. Ongoing work by IPI scientists is developing a blood substitute and readily accessible anemia treatment products from Justicia plants. Details of ongoing work by IPI scientists and the growing evidence can be found in this work
Research on phytomedicines to addressing pain and the opioid crisis
Pain is a substantial public health issue, where it is estimated that about 100 million Americans need pain treatment. Opioids have been increasingly used to treat pain, with 50-90% of cancer patients needing such treatment. This has caused a concomitant rise in prescription opioid abuse and fatalities e.g. 42,249 drug fatalities in 2016 alone. Because of this, alternative treatment options are desperately needed, and more and more patients and doctors are looking to alternatives like cannabis for managing pain. Clinical translation of cannabinoids is severely limited by unwanted psychoactive side effects and lack of rigorous demonstration of therapeutic efficacy. The IPI is partnering with leading NFL players, athletes and affiliated industry partners to develop the highest quality evidence-based products to extend benefit to millions across the world in pain management, provide a viable alternative solution to the growing opioid crises in the USA, and help in alleviating the access abyss in palliative care and pain relief globally.
Research on phytomedicines to reduce the side effects of Cancer treatment
Some studies have found that medical cannabis products can ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The FDA has also approved dronabinol (Marinol, Syndros) and nabilone (Cesamet), man-made cannabinoids, to treat these symptoms when other nausea medications don’t work. We are investigating more effective products to minimize these effects for radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment
Using nanodrones for precision targeting of nanomedicines to address CTE
We are accelerating research and development of evidence-based phytomedicines of the highest quality for different indications leveraging technology and unprecedented collaboration network across the world facilitated by the Global Health Catalyst summits
