GB Sciences and NRC Research Institute Apply Crowdsourcing and Big Data Analytics to the Discovery and Validation of Cannabis-Based Therapies


LAS VEGAS, Nov. 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GrowBLOX Sciences, Inc., "GB Sciences" (OTCQB:GBLX), a company that merges state-of-the-art technologies in plant biology, cultivation technology and post-production processes in order to optimize safe and consistent medicinal cannabis, and NRC Research Institute ("NRC") announce the joint development of a crowdsourcing application to discover cannabis-based therapeutic combinations that are effective in the treatment of serious disorders. The app uses real-time patient feedback, impairment testing, and biometric measurements to assess the efficacy of therapeutic products made with prescreened cannabis strains.

"Patients need help in finding the correct strain of Cannabis to treat their medical conditions," said Andrea L. Small-Howard, PhD, MBA, Chief Science Officer of GB Sciences. "Because GB Sciences has a suite of proprietary GrowBLOXTM technologies designed to produce consistent, medical-grade cannabis products with known cannabinoid-terpene profiles, we will soon be able to correlate patient symptoms and pathology with the right 'cocktails' of active ingredients for the first time. Any trial that has tested cannabis-based products without controlling the levels of active ingredients in the plant strains cannot accurately gauge their medicinal value. Once cannabis cocktail mixtures are validated as effective, they will become the source of our novel cannabinoid therapies. The app is our Drug Discovery Engine."

The research firms anticipate thousands of patients will download and use their free electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (GBLX-PRO) app to report and track their experience with different pre-screened strains of medicinal cannabis that are provisionally assigned to seven different treatment categories. In addition, the anonymously collected patient data will contribute to cannabis research and enable GB Sciences to demonstrate which of its pre-screened strains are effective in treating medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, pain and metabolic disorders. The GBLX-PRO app will aid in creating personalized treatments for patients with unmet clinical needs.

"This exciting strategic partnership with GB Sciences provides for the successful development of their product pipeline and will help innovate measurements for high-priority therapeutic indications in the cannabis drug development process," said Tony Ortiz, Ph.D., CEO of NRC Research Institute.

Collection and analysis of the two sets of data—cannabis strain potency and patient response to therapy—will enable GB Sciences to monitor and validate dosage levels and their effectiveness in treating specific medical conditions. The GBLX-PRO app will allow for three levels of participation: 1) self-reporting of clinical results using validated surveys; 2) participation in objective impairment testing; and 3) the collection of biometric data voluntarily submitted by participating patients via smartphone accessories. The GBLX-PRO app collects and combines rich objective and subjective patient feedback with lot-specific growth data that GB Sciences collects from its cannabis-growing operations.

"Crowdsourcing efficacy data is now possible because 23 states and Washington, D.C. allow patients to use cannabis," said Craig Ellins, CEO of GrowBLOX Sciences. "When collected and properly analyzed in our big data program, the patient information will provide a roadmap pointing which direction we need to head to treat specific illnesses. For the first time, we are going to have the ability to validate our strains for specific disorders."

To learn more about GB Sciences, Inc., go to www.gbsciences.com.

About GrowBLOX Sciences, Inc.

GB Sciences is a biopharmaceutical research and development company that merges state-of-the-art technologies in plant biology, cultivation technology and post-production processes in order to optimize our safe and consistent medicinal cannabis. The company is pioneering technology, industry-leading processes, and a big data-driven clinical research and development algorithm to bring relief to patients in communities across the country.

About NRC Research Institute

NRC Research is a Clinical Research and Development company with a focus on Contract Research Organization services to the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies. NRC Research Institute has worked with numerous globally recognized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on the development of experimental medications for FDA approval and other clinical development services.

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