WEST HILLS, N.Y., Dec. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KannaLife Sciences, Inc. ("KannaLife") announces that it has entered into a Materials Transfer and Testing Agreement with the Natural Product Discovery Institute (NPDI), a division of the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI), to provide KannaLife with access to a collection of more than 100,000 extracts from plants, fungi, and bacteria, previously owned by Merck and donated to the Institute in 2011. The NPDI natural products library is regarded as one of the best collections of screen ready druggable libraries made from living organisms.
"Signing the MTA with the Institute is an outstanding opportunity for KannaLife to access targeted plant species for the identification of novel phytochemicals to treat the diseases of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE). It fits in with our business plan to broaden the range of plant sources for addressing unmet medical needs in the areas of neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and oxidative stress. We are grateful for this excellent opportunity to work with a world class natural products discovery team at the Institute," stated William Kinney, CSO of KannaLife Sciences, Inc.
About the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute
The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, formerly the Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research, is named in honor of the late Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg, who was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus. Today, the Institute is the nation's leading nonprofit research organization dedicated to hepatitis B and liver cancer worldwide. It was established by the Hepatitis B Foundation in 2003 to fulfill its research mission of finding a cure for hepatitis B in our lifetime.
The Institute supports programs dedicated to drug discovery, biomarker discovery and translational biotechnology around common research themes such as chronic hepatitis, liver disease, and liver cancer in an environment conducive to interaction, collaboration and focus. Its mission is to use discovery science to find new therapies and biomarkers for hepatitis B and liver cancer; to advance its research discoveries through traditional scholarship and educational opportunities; to nurture biotechnology; and to support broader discovery research programs in the Life Sciences. Through an unprecedented gift from Merck and Co., of its entire US Natural Products Library and the Schering-Plough Legacy Culture Collection, the Institute is also dedicated to making this remarkable resource available to the scientific community worldwide for natural product discovery in academic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic, and nutritional projects.
About KannaLife Sciences, Inc .
KannaLife Sciences, Inc. is a late stage bio-pharmaceutical and phyto-medical company involved in the research and development of novel therapeutic agents designed as neuroprotectants, immuno-modulators and reduce oxidative stress. KannaLife Sciences currently holds an exclusive license with National Institutes of Health – Office of Technology Transfer ("NIH-OTT") for the Commercialization of U.S. Patent 6,630,507, "Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants" (the "'507 Patent"). KannaLife is currently conducting research and development at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Doylestown, PA, for a target drug candidate to treat Hepatic Encephalopathy ("HE"). HE is an oxidative stress related disease that affects the cognitive and behavioral functions, and the wellness of the brain and the liver.
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