Avicanna partners on cannabis testing lab in Colombia

Avicanna is a cannabis researcher and cultivator that manufactures cannabinoid for derma-cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and phyto-therapeuticals, as well as cannabis extracts and purified cannabinoids for global authorities and GMP standards.

The joint venture with Sigma will leverage its methodology, and intellectual property in cannabis and derived product testing to establish a laboratory to test cannabis genetics and products.

Lab will be part of existing subsidiaries​

The companies say that the lab is expected to be located within the existing testing facilities of Santa Marta Golden Hemp and Sativa Nativa, two subsidiaries of Avicanna.

The testing services will be offered to a very wide variety of large scale licensed product, as well as small scale partner farmers.

The lab is expected to be the first ever cannabinoid dedicated analytical facility and independent testing service in South America, able to meet GMP standards, as well as those for authorities in Canada, the EU and US.   

The company says that the laboratory will perform analysis on cannabis products, testing its purity for the presence of elements such as pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvent and microbials, as performing genotyping and cannabinoid and terpene profiling.

Taking Avicanna to the next development phase​

The investment in the laboratory facilities is the next step in Aviacanna’s development program and will ensure the quality and purity of its cannabinoid products.

"This level of world-class quality testing is a necessity for Avicanna's pharmaceutical development and clinical development programs, but will also be established as a minimum requirement for all of our product categories as we aim to establish a global standard for cannabinoid-based solutions,"​ said Avicanna CEO Aras Azadian. 

A significant number of cannabinoid-producing companies have made Canada their headquarters, including Avicanna, and in turn there is a pattern for these companies to target the Latin American market because the regulation of cannabinoid-containing products has  proved to be relatively liberal.