Aphios Corporation, a green biotechnology company based in Massachusetts that uses environmentally sustainable technologies, recently announced it was awarded the Phase II portion of a Fast Track SBIR grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the production of cannabidiol (CBD) from marijuana. The compound is expected to be an effective therapeutic agent for multiple sclerosis and other disorders affecting the central nervous system (CNS).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results from an attack on the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord and optical nerves) by the body’s own immune system, resulting in motor function impairment (coordination, balance, speech and vision), irreversible neurological disability and paralysis. It is estimated that more than 2.3 million people in the world suffer from multiple sclerosis, and there is currently no cure for the disease.

Cannabis is a plant employed in diverse settings, including...