Standard Seed Corporation, a new startup led by an organic chemist and computer scientist with over a decade of experience designing clinical drugs, may represent one of the most significant technological breakthroughs the cannabis industry has ever seen.
While this may sound like hyperbole, even in its current iteration Standard Seed’s Botanical AI Factory (BAIF) platform offers an unprecedented opportunity to address the sector’s most pressing challenges, from the lack of deep scientific understanding of the plant and its interactions with the human body, to the exorbitant costs of drug development.
At its core, the technology has the power to scientifically validate the entourage effect, streamline drug discovery, and drastically reduce the time and cost of bringing cannabis-based medicines to market.
By mapping molecular interactions across millions of proteins and aggregating global patient data, Standard Seed’s BAIF not only enables deeper scientific understanding of cannabinoids, but also lays the groundwork for regulatory-grade evidence.
In essence, its platform has the potential to fundamentally reshape the way cannabis (and many other plants) are understood, regulated, and prescribed around the world.
Despite its transformative potential, Standard Seed Corporation (SSC) has a fairly humble origin story, beggining as a spin-off from the larger open-source Global Chemistry project, which itself is a collaborative, open-source initiative involving over 135 scientists and more than 250,000 downloads of chemical data.
Initially, the company was founded to address a specific botanical knowledge gap between eastern and western medicine.
Specifically for the cannabis industry, it sought to address the lack of a clear, standardised reference for the chemical constituents present in Cannabis Sativa, and both consumers and businesses’ difficulty in interpreting and fully understanding laboratory testing results, especially Certificates of Analysis (CoAs).
Recognising that the chemical data available on cannabis was fragmented and difficult to interpret, SSC set out to organise and digitise this information, democratising the science to make it accessible and actionable for both researchers and the public.
Their goal was to help users understand the full chemical profile of cannabis, not just the most common cannabinoids and terpenes, but also the hundreds of other compounds that may contribute to its effects and safety.
That same fragmentation persists across thousands of medicinal plants, from cacao to ginseng, and BAIF now spans a rapidly growing library beyond cannabis. Similar master‑lists are now being assembled for turmeric, ginger, kratom, kava, chamomile, and other high‑value botanicals.
SSC took a critical step by compiling and recording a standard list of 406 constituents of Cannabis sativa on Wikipedia, drawing from authoritative sources such as Carlton Turner’s seminal work, intended to signal to the community that laboratory testing should aim to include as many of these compounds as possible in their COA reports.
If, like us, the intricacies of organic chemistry and computer science seem entirely impenetrable, this concept of an open-source library of chemical structures, translated into standardised, easy to understand language, is a good place to start in order to explain what SSC has built.
SSC told Business of Cannabis – “We turned to technology we already use in the pharmaceutical industry, something that hadn’t yet been applied to cannabis.
“We analyse a molecule like THC by constructing a comprehensive ‘molecular map’ that details its mathematical features (bond lengths and angles, torsion angles), and chemical features (regions of electron donation or acceptance, aromaticity etc.) providing a thorough understanding of its structural features and all critical chemical behaviors relevant to its function.”
Depicted below is the CB1 Medical receptor, where ingested THC binds within the protein’s binding pocket, marked by the pink box, acting much like a key in a lock. SSC has systematically organised over 2.5m proteins by organ and body region, facilitating comprehensive protein screening.
This capability enables cannabis researchers and drug developers to simulate how single or multiple compounds behave in the body, which proteins are affected, which systems are activated, how multiple compounds interact together, where their effects overlap and what the magnitude of those effects might be. All virtually.
Being able to accurately map and detail the entourage effect, something that has fascinated but largely eluded cannabis science since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, is a significant achievement on its own. But the implications of what this technology could do for companies goes well beyond this.
Using this data allows the commercial cannabis market to add scientific credibility to its products, supporting its claims for regulation compliance, emotional effects, and the ability to deliver consistent, repeatable experiences.
Crucially, however, this could transform the field of drug discovery in the medical space.
SSC has mapped the key interactions of some of the most well-known cannabis compounds used in today’s formulations. This technology has already uncovered new insights and potential applications, enabling more precise product development and helping the industry move beyond anecdotal evidence toward scientifically validated, repeatable effects and experiences.
It has gone as far as suggesting that in many cases, the cannabis market has even ‘been making claims that don’t align with what we know from pharmaceutical research’, adding that this platform now effectively bridges this gap through the use of ‘chemistry and real data’.
Below are some of its initial findings:
“THCV cannabis has adopted the nickname ‘diet weed’. Many assumed CB1/CB2 activity drove the weight‑loss effect, but BAIF shows additional metabolic pathways at play,” SSC explained.
Cannabis drug development is the holy grail for almost all businesses operating in the space. Advancing a drug through clinical trials into the market holds the potential to be incredibly lucrative for those who succeed, but also, more importantly, to change the lives of thousands of patients suffering from chronic conditions.
The relative shortage of successful clinical trials is also the single most obstructive barrier to the wider adoption of cannabis medicines into mainstream healthcare, and discussed at length during this year’s Cannabis Europa conference.
Mounting evidence shows that, despite its growing prevalence, the mainstream medical community is still cautious of medical cannabis due to this lack of rigorous scientific research and clinical trials.
While both lawmakers and medical professionals have repeatedly called on the industry to provide this data, it is particularly difficult to achieve, not to mention eye-wateringly expensive. In the UK alone this year, we’ve seen one of the most promising cannabis drug development companies, Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, fall into administration amid funding woes.
Studies from Tufts (2016), JAMA (2020), CBO (2021) and Deloitte (2022) suggest that the average cost of taking a new drug from concept through clinical trials and onto the market is typically estimated to fall between $1.3 billion and $2.8 billion.
SSC’s platform offers ‘a very strong initial starting point.’
“Everything’s modelled computationally based on known protein structures, enzyme behaviours, and how molecules interact with them. Once we identify a promising interaction or pathway, we then set out to validate it experimentally.”
SSC is now inviting nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and wellness brands across all botanicals to share their data, offering a membership to the platform in exchange (depending on its quality and quantity). The initial members of this collaborative initiative include MCR Labs, Cannamatrix, Blazing-SEO, AnunaAI, Tetragram, and Real Cannabis Medicine Co.
The company plans to aggregate ‘massive amounts of real-world patient data’, then use this as a foundation to develop products, either as nutraceuticals or by pushing them through FDA botanical drug development approval.
Anyone familiar with this process will know this is no mean feat, but beyond using AI to map cannabis components, SSC is building tools specifically designed to streamline this regulatory pathway.
“In the US, only five plant-based drugs have ever been approved by the FDA. But there is a specific guidance document for botanical drug development, and we’ve aligned our AI platform to follow that exact regulatory pathway.
“We built a large AI system that automatically compiles everything needed for an IND — that’s an Investigational New Drug application — and prepares it for FDA submission. People are now starting to realise: if you want to reschedule cannabis in the US, this is one of the most effective ways to do it.”
Looking ahead, the company is also planning to align its system with the stringent regulatory pathways of other countries, meaning companies from across the world will be able to begin their development journeys via this platform.
The use-cases and potential implications of democratising this technology are undoubtedly some of the most significant the industry has ever seen. Ultimately, it could not only help companies discover countless new medicines, but explain why and how they work in terms we can all understand.
Public education, especially around the nuanced science of cannabis, has long been a barrier to mainstream adoption of plant‑based therapeutics. By translating complex cannabinoid data into clear, regulator‑ready language, BAIF offers access to the evidence needed to shift public perception and policy alike.
The post The Platform That Could Rewrite the Future of Cannabis Drug Discovery appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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While this may sound like hyperbole, even in its current iteration Standard Seed’s Botanical AI Factory (BAIF) platform offers an unprecedented opportunity to address the sector’s most pressing challenges, from the lack of deep scientific understanding of the plant and its interactions with the human body, to the exorbitant costs of drug development.
At its core, the technology has the power to scientifically validate the entourage effect, streamline drug discovery, and drastically reduce the time and cost of bringing cannabis-based medicines to market.
By mapping molecular interactions across millions of proteins and aggregating global patient data, Standard Seed’s BAIF not only enables deeper scientific understanding of cannabinoids, but also lays the groundwork for regulatory-grade evidence.
In essence, its platform has the potential to fundamentally reshape the way cannabis (and many other plants) are understood, regulated, and prescribed around the world.
How does it work?
Despite its transformative potential, Standard Seed Corporation (SSC) has a fairly humble origin story, beggining as a spin-off from the larger open-source Global Chemistry project, which itself is a collaborative, open-source initiative involving over 135 scientists and more than 250,000 downloads of chemical data.
Initially, the company was founded to address a specific botanical knowledge gap between eastern and western medicine.
Specifically for the cannabis industry, it sought to address the lack of a clear, standardised reference for the chemical constituents present in Cannabis Sativa, and both consumers and businesses’ difficulty in interpreting and fully understanding laboratory testing results, especially Certificates of Analysis (CoAs).
Recognising that the chemical data available on cannabis was fragmented and difficult to interpret, SSC set out to organise and digitise this information, democratising the science to make it accessible and actionable for both researchers and the public.
Their goal was to help users understand the full chemical profile of cannabis, not just the most common cannabinoids and terpenes, but also the hundreds of other compounds that may contribute to its effects and safety.
That same fragmentation persists across thousands of medicinal plants, from cacao to ginseng, and BAIF now spans a rapidly growing library beyond cannabis. Similar master‑lists are now being assembled for turmeric, ginger, kratom, kava, chamomile, and other high‑value botanicals.
SSC took a critical step by compiling and recording a standard list of 406 constituents of Cannabis sativa on Wikipedia, drawing from authoritative sources such as Carlton Turner’s seminal work, intended to signal to the community that laboratory testing should aim to include as many of these compounds as possible in their COA reports.
If, like us, the intricacies of organic chemistry and computer science seem entirely impenetrable, this concept of an open-source library of chemical structures, translated into standardised, easy to understand language, is a good place to start in order to explain what SSC has built.
SSC told Business of Cannabis – “We turned to technology we already use in the pharmaceutical industry, something that hadn’t yet been applied to cannabis.
“We analyse a molecule like THC by constructing a comprehensive ‘molecular map’ that details its mathematical features (bond lengths and angles, torsion angles), and chemical features (regions of electron donation or acceptance, aromaticity etc.) providing a thorough understanding of its structural features and all critical chemical behaviors relevant to its function.”
Depicted below is the CB1 Medical receptor, where ingested THC binds within the protein’s binding pocket, marked by the pink box, acting much like a key in a lock. SSC has systematically organised over 2.5m proteins by organ and body region, facilitating comprehensive protein screening.
This capability enables cannabis researchers and drug developers to simulate how single or multiple compounds behave in the body, which proteins are affected, which systems are activated, how multiple compounds interact together, where their effects overlap and what the magnitude of those effects might be. All virtually.
Being able to accurately map and detail the entourage effect, something that has fascinated but largely eluded cannabis science since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, is a significant achievement on its own. But the implications of what this technology could do for companies goes well beyond this.
Using this data allows the commercial cannabis market to add scientific credibility to its products, supporting its claims for regulation compliance, emotional effects, and the ability to deliver consistent, repeatable experiences.
Crucially, however, this could transform the field of drug discovery in the medical space.
Implications for cannabis drug and botanical drug discovery
SSC has mapped the key interactions of some of the most well-known cannabis compounds used in today’s formulations. This technology has already uncovered new insights and potential applications, enabling more precise product development and helping the industry move beyond anecdotal evidence toward scientifically validated, repeatable effects and experiences.
It has gone as far as suggesting that in many cases, the cannabis market has even ‘been making claims that don’t align with what we know from pharmaceutical research’, adding that this platform now effectively bridges this gap through the use of ‘chemistry and real data’.
Below are some of its initial findings:
- THC – primarily targets G protein-coupled receptors, specifically the cannabinoid receptors CNR1 and CNR2, leading to pronounced euphoria. It also interacts with ion channels such as GABA-A and TRPV channels, contributing to relaxation and calm. Through its effects on kinases and methyltransferases (transcription-related proteins), THC can influence metabolic processes. Additionally, THC engages with enzymes like dehydrogenases and oxygenases, supporting anti-inflammatory and pain relief effects.
- CBG – acts on ion channels (GABA-A and TRPV), promoting relaxation and calm. It also modulates oxidoreductases, including cytochrome P450 and ALOX5, which are involved in oxidative stress and inflammation. CBG interacts with a broad range of enzymes, such as dehydrogenases, oxygenases, and nuclear receptors like PPAR gamma, contributing to anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. Its influence on kinases and methyltransferases links CBG to metabolic regulation.
- CBC – targets transferases (including kinases and methyltransferases), as well as capsid proteins and viral enzymes, supporting its antiviral activity. It also acts on cytokines and antibodies within the immune system, which may explain its anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties. CBC’s engagement with heat shock proteins and matrix metalloproteinases further supports neuroprotection and tissue repair.
- THCV – interacts with enzymes (dehydrogenases, oxygenases, PPAR gamma, and nuclear receptors), which are key to metabolic effects and neuroprotection. It also targets kinases, methyltransferases, and transcription factors, influencing metabolic pathways. THCV’s action on capsid proteins, viral enzymes, and matrix metalloproteinases links it to pain relief, neuroprotection, and antiviral activity.
“THCV cannabis has adopted the nickname ‘diet weed’. Many assumed CB1/CB2 activity drove the weight‑loss effect, but BAIF shows additional metabolic pathways at play,” SSC explained.
Dramatic reduction in clinical testing costs
Cannabis drug development is the holy grail for almost all businesses operating in the space. Advancing a drug through clinical trials into the market holds the potential to be incredibly lucrative for those who succeed, but also, more importantly, to change the lives of thousands of patients suffering from chronic conditions.
The relative shortage of successful clinical trials is also the single most obstructive barrier to the wider adoption of cannabis medicines into mainstream healthcare, and discussed at length during this year’s Cannabis Europa conference.
Mounting evidence shows that, despite its growing prevalence, the mainstream medical community is still cautious of medical cannabis due to this lack of rigorous scientific research and clinical trials.
While both lawmakers and medical professionals have repeatedly called on the industry to provide this data, it is particularly difficult to achieve, not to mention eye-wateringly expensive. In the UK alone this year, we’ve seen one of the most promising cannabis drug development companies, Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, fall into administration amid funding woes.
Studies from Tufts (2016), JAMA (2020), CBO (2021) and Deloitte (2022) suggest that the average cost of taking a new drug from concept through clinical trials and onto the market is typically estimated to fall between $1.3 billion and $2.8 billion.
SSC’s platform offers ‘a very strong initial starting point.’
“Everything’s modelled computationally based on known protein structures, enzyme behaviours, and how molecules interact with them. Once we identify a promising interaction or pathway, we then set out to validate it experimentally.”
SSC is now inviting nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and wellness brands across all botanicals to share their data, offering a membership to the platform in exchange (depending on its quality and quantity). The initial members of this collaborative initiative include MCR Labs, Cannamatrix, Blazing-SEO, AnunaAI, Tetragram, and Real Cannabis Medicine Co.
The company plans to aggregate ‘massive amounts of real-world patient data’, then use this as a foundation to develop products, either as nutraceuticals or by pushing them through FDA botanical drug development approval.
Anyone familiar with this process will know this is no mean feat, but beyond using AI to map cannabis components, SSC is building tools specifically designed to streamline this regulatory pathway.
“In the US, only five plant-based drugs have ever been approved by the FDA. But there is a specific guidance document for botanical drug development, and we’ve aligned our AI platform to follow that exact regulatory pathway.
“We built a large AI system that automatically compiles everything needed for an IND — that’s an Investigational New Drug application — and prepares it for FDA submission. People are now starting to realise: if you want to reschedule cannabis in the US, this is one of the most effective ways to do it.”
Looking ahead, the company is also planning to align its system with the stringent regulatory pathways of other countries, meaning companies from across the world will be able to begin their development journeys via this platform.
The use-cases and potential implications of democratising this technology are undoubtedly some of the most significant the industry has ever seen. Ultimately, it could not only help companies discover countless new medicines, but explain why and how they work in terms we can all understand.
Public education, especially around the nuanced science of cannabis, has long been a barrier to mainstream adoption of plant‑based therapeutics. By translating complex cannabinoid data into clear, regulator‑ready language, BAIF offers access to the evidence needed to shift public perception and policy alike.
The post The Platform That Could Rewrite the Future of Cannabis Drug Discovery appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
Continue reading...
