PharmaCielo Forms Research Advisory Board to Advance Legal Marijuana Studies

Canadian-based PharmaCielo Ltd. yesterday announced that it has formed a research advisory board to advance its studies of cannabis with hopes of further developing itself in the legal marijuana market. The company operates its PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S. subsidiary in Rio Negro, a large municipality outside of Medellín in Colombia’s Antioquia department, and is pushing to expand in a country it believes holds great potential in the legal marijuana market.

The research team will be lead by Dr. Pritesh Kumar and include Dr. Charlyn Belluzzo, Dr. Ajay Gupta, Dr. Ajay Gupta, and Dr. Marjorie Robinson. “While there has been a variety of important research studies conducted to date, when contrasted with the global horticultural and bio-medical sectors, we have to acknowledge that there remains significant opportunity to investigate the potential therapeutic properties of cannabinoids,” said Dr. Kumar.

PharmaCielo’s business plan in the marijuana industry is focused on supplying the international market. It has said that “Colombia’s ideal location” will play a big role in “building a sustainable business in the medical cannabis industry.”

The company released the following bios for the members of its new research team.

Dr. Charlyn Belluzzo, ScMD, PhD, MBA

Dr. Belluzzo is an internationally recognized corporate and non-profit leader with expertise in clinical research, strategic planning, global health and operational management. She is Clinical Director for xRapid, a mobile health technology company, as well as co-owner and Director of Global Health Initiatives for DrInfo, a health information and communication system. Dr. Belluzzo’s clinical research has been published extensively, and she has presented at professional meetings, international forums and academic settings around the world.  She also serves on the boards of several international organizations and foundations.

Dr. Ajay Gupta, PhD

Dr. Gupta is a professor and laboratory operations director with expertise in plant tissue culture techniques, herbal cultivation and extraction methods. He has developed lab protocols for female cannabis cultivars and other plants and has produced over a million plants of horticultural importance for farmers and organizations. Currently, Dr. Gupta is the Director of Operations at the Dolphin PG College of Science and Agriculture in Punjab,India, where he focuses on the development of agriculture curriculum, tissue culture facility development and hydroponic cultivation infrastructure. He was previously Director of Research at the Institute of Applied Sciences at Mangalayatan University.

Dr. Darryl Hudson, PhD

Dr. Hudson is a molecular biologist and geneticist utilizing his expertise to optimize cultivation and quality assurance protocols within the cannabis industry and to develop SOPs and QA standards for all aspects of cannabis production including cultivation, extraction, formulation and analytical testing. He was involved in a study pertaining to a large cannabis genome project published in 2015 as “The Genetic Structure of Marijuana and Hemp” and has planted numerous research plots across Canada which will help advance understanding of the plant.

Dr. Hudson currently operates InPlanta Biotechnology, an advanced research laboratory focused on cannabis genetics, cultivation and breeding.  He has worked to develop optimal fertilizer blends and created environmentally healthy alternatives to some of the more commonly used nutrient and pesticide products utilized in the cultivation of cannabis.

Dr. Marjorie Robinson, PharmD

Dr. Robinson is a respected pharmaceutical consultant and licensed pharmacist who draws from nearly 30 years of academic and corporate pharmaceutical clinical research experience to develop formulas and novel research designs for cannabinoid products. She was most recently Associate Director of Medical Affairs / Medical Scientist at Gilead Sciences Inc.

Dr. Robinson earned a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University, a B.S. from St. John’s University in New York and a Diploma of Science in Pharmacology, magna cum laude, from the University of Technology, Jamaica.