Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings PLC (LSE:OCTP) has brought in the experts to assess the potential of the cannabinoid library licensed from the North American cannabis giant, Canopy Growth.
It has access to 335 derivatives of the naturally occurring compounds found in cannabis plants.
To help it understand their potential, OCT has teamed up with Dalriada, a specialist Canadian group that it will use to “propel R&D activities”.
OCT said Dalriada has previously designed, synthesised and experimentally tested all of the compounds in the Canopy library.
The aim, therefore, is to “leverage this existing knowledge and experience” in the search for drug candidates targeting pain, neurology, inflammation and oncology.
The end goal of the collaboration is to select two drug candidates ready for pre-clinical development by the end of next year.
OCT chief Executive, Dr John Lucas, said: "Whilst our main focus remains pain therapy, the collaboration with Dalriada, in synergy with the strategic collaborations recently announced, will enable us to expand and differentiate our efforts into other therapeutic areas including neurology, oncology and inflammation.
“Working with the team that helped Canopy to develop its library is hugely exciting for OCT and will help us get the very best out of that important acquisition."