This company cloned cannabis cells in a bioreactor, and they’re 12 times stronger than normal

Israeli-based company BioHarvest Sciences has created a material with all the active ingredients found in cannabis that is 12 times more potent by cloning hemp cells and growing them in a bioreactor.

As stated on the company's website, using its patented Bio-Plant CELLicitationTM platform technology, BioHarvest Sciences exhibits exceptional Cannabinoid tuning and elicitation capabilities. The company also claims that high amounts of minors such as Cannabinoids and THCV could provide unique medical and commercial benefits.

As per BioHarvest Sciences, the innovation may make it easier, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly to access cannabis' therapeutic properties. It has begun the process of requesting the appropriate permissions to produce and market its product for medical use in Israel and the US.

“We don’t grow the plant at all. We grow them in huge bioreactors in just three weeks — while regular cannabis takes 14 to 23 weeks,” BioHarvest Sciences CEO Ilan Sobel said to the Times of Israel.

“Our tech can also significantly increase the levels of active ingredients, as a percent of the weight, versus what is found normally in the plant."

"Every gram emerging from the bioreactor in Rehovot requires less water and other resources to grow than a gram from a cannabis plant— and will stretch considerably further in terms of treating patients," Sobel also stated.

A medical innovation

As reported in the Times of Israel, the biomass that emerges from the bioreactor is made up of cells that are genetically unaltered and identical to those found in cannabis generated from plants. Patients can receive it in a variety of formulations, including pills, drops, chewing gum, and smokable forms, said Sobel.

In addition to Sobel's words, Dr. Christopher D’Adamo, Director of the Center for Integrated Medicine at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, stated about the BioHarvest Sciences'

“The medical establishment has been eyeing the potential of full spectrum Cannabis to address many chronic health indications in need of better treatment options."

"These achievements by BioHarvest in naturally eliciting important minor Cannabinoids to significant biologically active levels, combined with high levels of major Cannabinoids, all produced with a high level of consistency, represent a major breakthrough towards the development of efficient Cannabis-based botanical drugs.”

Two difficulties in growing cannabis could be overcome by the regulated environment of the bioreactor: contamination and harvests with different levels of active chemicals. According to Sobel, the bioreactor's protective atmosphere keeps out impurities like fungi, and its controlled nature produces a product with consistent component levels.