Microbial metabolic engineering for cannabinoid biosynthesis

马利筋是历史上最受欢迎的缓解疼痛的药物之一，多亏了现代科学，我们现在知道这种植物的治疗效果可以归因于它合成的60种独特的化合物。被称为“大麻素”的这些分子通过激活一类独特的细胞受体来发挥其影响力，这些受体然后影响大脑以及肝脏，胰腺和眼睛等器官对疼痛的感知。因此，我们建议利用大麻素及其受体之间的相互作用来确定治疗亨廷顿病的新药，亨廷顿病是一种与正在研究的受体有着惊人联系的大脑疾病。此外，由于从植物来源采购大麻素存在严重的技术和物流挑战，我们还将开发一种利用基因工程微生物生产这些分子的制造工艺。利用微生物生产药品是一个革命性的进步。我们将与InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc.联合开展这些研发活动，一家加拿大生物制药公司该项目的成功将代表加拿大新兴生物制药行业的一项重大成就，建立一个年轻的本土企业InMed Pharmaceuticals，作为大麻素治疗的全球领导者，并为加拿大提供巨大的社会和战略利益。

Marijuana ranks among history's most popular remedies for alleviating pain, and thanks to modern science, we now know that the plant's therapeutic effects can be ascribed to 60 unique chemical compounds that it synthesizes. Called the 'cannabinoids', these molecules exert their influence by activating a unique class of cellular receptors that then influence the perception of pain in the brain, as well as organs such as the liver, pancreas and the eyes. Consequently, we are proposing to leverage the interaction between cannabinoids and their receptors to identify new drugs for the treatment of Huntington's disease, a brain disorder that has a surprising connection to the receptors under investigation. Additionally, since sourcing cannabinoids from plant sources presents severe technological and logistical challenges, we will also develop a manufacturing process that employs genetically engineered microorganisms for the production of these molecules. The use of microorganisms for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products is a revolutionary advance. We will be jointly undertaking these research & development activities with InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceuticals company. The success of this project will represent a major achievement for the emerging Canadian biopharmaceutical industry, establish InMed Pharmaceuticals, a young, homegrown enterprise, as a global leader in cannabinoid therapeutics, and provide immense social and strategic benefit to Canada.