A group of infectious disease researchers from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada are turning to cannabis for a vaccine against the coronavirus. According to the research team, an antigen of plant origin may be easier to produce on a large scale than an antigen of animal origin.
Zyus Life Sciences is a Canadian medical cannabis company that has partnered with the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Center (VIDO-InterVac) to develop proteins from cannabis to develop a vaccine candidate.
How does it work?
"Thanks to our platform we've been working on for a while before we got into the cannabis space..." said Brent Zettl, CEO of Zyus and pioneer of the Canadian cannabis industry. "One day I asked if we could produce a vaccine of this type of protein using our plant system and if our platform would be empowered to develop it."
Zettl explains that his team works with two different compounds. One is made from cannabis and the other from a different plant. These compounds are used to produce a protein that can be used for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
VIDO-InterVac scientist Dr. Paul Hodgson said "Today, no one really knows what a final vaccine will be. But with each vaccine trial, the scientific community is learning more about the virus and how it can be prevented.”
Several initiatives are in place to study cannabis as a treatment for the coronavirus.
In one study, the most widely reported, but not yet peer-reviewed, certain cannabis extracts significantly reduced the activity of viral receptors in human tissue.
Israeli researchers are also studying how cannabis compounds could help repair tissue damaged by COVID-19, including the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD.
