An Israeli company has cloned hemp cells and used a bioreactor to grow them into a substance with all the active compounds of cannabis and 12 times the potency.
BioHarvest Sciences says the breakthrough could make the medical benefits of cannabis available in cheaper, cleaner, and greener forms. It has started applying for the necessary licenses to manufacture and sell its product for medical use in Israel and the United States.
“We don’t grow the plant at all,” BioHarvest CEO Ilan Sobel told The Times of Israel. Instead, the process involves “replicating” cells taken from a hemp plant in big tanks called bioreactors to produce huge numbers of identical cells.
“We grow them in huge bioreactors in just three weeks, while regular cannabis takes 14 to 23 weeks,” Sobel said. “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.”
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