Spectrum Therapeutics, the medical division of Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED; NYSE:CGC) appointed Dr. Marcel Bonn-Miller as global clinical scientific director.
He brings 18 years of experience researching cannabinoids and their various effects, has received funding for 27 research grants, and has led or contributed to 19 clinical trials. His work has been featured in 139 academic publications and 161 conference presentations, and he also serves on the editorial boards of five academic journals.
Dr. Bonn-Miller previously worked as director of cannabinoid research for Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, a transdermal cannabinoid pharmaceutical company. He is also an adjunct assistant Prof. at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, known for his work examining the potential of cannabis in treating post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Bonn-Miller will be supported by Hunter Land and Drs. Ryan Lanier and Erica Peters as associate directors.
Mr. Land was instrumental in bringing the first cannabis-derived CBD medicine developed for patients with treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy, including Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, to FDA approval. Dr. Peters was the lead clinical cannabis scientist for four years at Battelle, the world’s largest non-profit research and development organization, and Dr. Lanier worked for Analgesic Solutions, where he consulted on the development of pain medications for FDA approval.
In a statement, Dr. Mark Ware, CMO of Canopy, said that taking a strategic approach to global clinical research, in collaboration with outstanding investigators and institutions, and supported by our first-rate team of scientists, “will generate innovative products for a number of indications with significant unmet needs.”
Spectrum Therapeutics also announced implementation of a global pharmacovigilance, or drug safety, program to capture and document adverse events reported from the worldwide use of its medical cannabis products in addition to its Canadian recreational cannabis brands.
Dr. Ware said that under the pharmacovigilance program, “every one of our 3,000-plus staff worldwide is being trained in reporting adverse events. It’s an important step towards establishing drug safety and will advance our efforts to provide patients with accepted, clinically validated cannabis medicines while transparently demonstrating the relative risks of cannabis.”
