MediCrops' 3rd financing round off to flying start

On August 1^st 2022, the Federal Council passed the new legislative thus opening up the medicinal cannabis market in Switzerland. MediCrops is actively engaged in developing cannabis-based preparations for medical use and fully intends to become a key player in this market. Swissmedic is currently examining a formal application by the firm relating to research into medical cannabis and its production. A response is expected soon and could well allow the company to position itself on a market that has hitherto been extremely marginal due to legal restrictions. MediCrops has the distinction of being one of the rare Swiss companies that is in a position to sequence the cannabis genome, having devoted major investment to research in this field.

The recent changes in Swiss narcotics legislation have opened up much larger prospects for the startup, founded in 2019. The company was able to raise CHF 20 million from renowned investors last year. A third ongoing financing round of over CHF 50 million is off to a strong start. In the two-week preliminary funding round, MediCorps was able to raise approximately CHF 3.7 million. The capital will be invested in the new production facility in Yverdon-les-Bains and in the research and development center in Biopole Lausanne.

Exploring the biological activity of cannabis to combat disease and pain

Aside from THC and CBD, the biological properties of cannabis have been neglected in academic circles and as a result remain largely unknown: “At present, genomic and metabolic data on cannabinoids accounts for less than 1% of research into the plant, which is overwhelmingly devoted to growth or production enhancement,” explains Anthony Guihur, holder of a PhD in molecular biology and head of R&D at MediCrops – despite the fact that the biological activity of cannabinoids could be of interest in the fight against certain pathologies. MediCrops is setting out to demonstrate as much, filling the gaps in scientific knowledge via omics technology structured around bioinformatics, biochemistry, and molecular biology: “We have one of the only teams in Switzerland to be familiar with the engineering involved in systematic analysis of living organisms at the molecular level,” adds the researcher.

Consumers express their needs

Although perceptions are shifting, MediCrops is well aware that positioning cannabis as a legitimate treatment remains a challenge. The startup aims to develop partnerships and support the creation of discussion platforms targeting doctors, patients, key opinion leaders, and the general public, and will be paying careful attention to the observational study of the effects of medical use of cannabis on patients to be carried out by Swiss authorities.

The numbers of beneficiaries are constantly increasing – as are the reported benefits of various types of prescribed formulations. Rather than its euphoric effects, what patients really appreciate is pain mitigation. MediCrops is aiming to provide a full- scope, differentiated offering. As Anthony Guihur puts it, “Our aim is to open up access to cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals of recognised interest, with a selection targeting a range of pathologies: cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and so on. Suffering should not be seen as inevitable.”

(Press release - ES)