Standard Seed Corporation may be the first startup to bring a significant breakthrough in the cannabis market. The company is led by an organic scientist and computer scientists with over 10 years of experience developing clinical drugs.
While this may sound like hyperbole, even in its current iteration Standard Seed’s Botanical AI Factory (BAIF) platform offers an unprecedented opportunity to address the sector’s most pressing challenges, from the lack of deep scientific understanding of the plant and its interactions with the human body, to the exorbitant costs of drug development.Â
The technology is able to validate scientifically the entourage effects, speed up drug discovery and reduce time and costs of bringing cannabis based medicine to the market.
Standard Seed’s BAIF, which aggregates global patient data and maps molecular interactions over millions of proteins, not only allows for a deeper understanding of cannabinoids but also provides the foundations of regulatory-grade proof.
The platform’s potential is to fundamentally transform the way cannabis, as well as many other plants, are understood and prescribed in the entire world.
What is the process?
Standard Seed Corporation has an interesting origin, but it is not a very impressive one. SSC was born as a spinoff project of the Global Chemistry open source initiative, which involves over 135 scientists, and 250,000 chemical downloads.
In the beginning, this company was created to fill a gap in botanical knowledge between Eastern and Western medicine.
It was designed to help the cannabis industry address issues such as the absence of a standardised, clear reference of chemical constituents in Cannabis sativa and the difficulties that consumers and companies have in fully understanding the results of laboratory tests, including Certificates of Analysis.
SSC recognised that cannabis chemical data was difficult to read and interpret. They set about organising and digitizing this information to make the science more accessible for researchers as well as the general public.
The goal of the study was to provide users with a full understanding of the chemical composition of cannabis. This included not just cannabinoids or terpenes but hundreds of compounds which could contribute to the effects of the drug and its safety.
The same fragmentation is found in thousands of plants from cacao to Ginseng. BAIF has expanded its library far beyond cannabis. Similar master‑lists are now being assembled for turmeric, ginger, kratom, kava, chamomile, and other high‑value botanicals.
SSC took a critical step by compiling and recording a standard list of 406 constituents of Cannabis sativa on Wikipedia, drawing from authoritative sources such as Carlton Turner’s seminal work, intended to signal to the community that laboratory testing should aim to include as many of these compounds as possible in their CoA reports.
This concept, which is an open source library of chemical structure translated into a standardised and easy-to-understand language, will help you understand what SSC built.
SSC informed MEDCAN24 – “We turned to technology we already use in the pharmaceutical industry, something that hadn’t yet been applied to cannabis.
“We analyse a molecule like THC by constructing a comprehensive ‘molecular map’ that details its mathematical features (bond lengths and angles, torsion angles), and chemical features (regions of electron donation or acceptance, aromaticity etc.) This allows a comprehensive understanding of the structural characteristics and critical chemical behavior relevant to its functions.”
Â
The CB1 receptor is shown below. Ingested THC will bind to the binding pocket of the protein, which has been marked in pink. This acts like a key into a lock. SSC has organised more than 2.5m proteins according to organs and body regions, which allows comprehensive protein testing.
Cannabis researchers and drug designers can simulate in this way how multiple or single compounds act within the body. This includes which proteins are impacted, what systems are activated and how compounds interact with each other. Virtually.
Â
“That’s really what people mean when they talk about the ‘entourage effect’, right? So we said—yes, we can actually prove that now.”
It is an impressive achievement in itself to be able map the entourage effects, a phenomenon that cannabis scientists have been fascinated by but has largely avoided since the discovery the of the endocannabinoid systems. The implications for businesses of this technology go far beyond that.
Using these data, the cannabis commercial market can add credibility to their products by proving that they are compliant with regulations, have emotional effects and deliver repeatable, consistent experiences.
This could be a game changer in terms of the drug discovery field.
Cannabis drug and botanical drug development: Implications
SSC has identified the interactions between some of the best-known cannabis components used today in formulations. The SSC technology already has uncovered many new applications and insights. This allows for more precise formulations and helps to shift the cannabis industry from anecdotal data towards repeatable, scientifically-validated effects.
Many cases have been suggested by the author. the cannabis market has even ‘been making claims that don’t align with what we know from pharmaceutical research’, adding that this platform now effectively bridges this gap through the use of ‘chemistry and real data’.
Here are some initial findings.
 – THC – primarily targets G protein-coupled receptors, specifically the cannabinoid receptors CNR1 and CNR2, leading to pronounced euphoria. The ion channel GABAA, TRPV and TRPV are also affected by THC. This leads to a feeling of calm and relaxation. Through its effects on kinases and methyltransferases (transcription-related proteins), THC can influence metabolic processes. THC also interacts with dehydrogenases (and oxygenases) to support anti-inflammatory effects and pain relief.
 – CBG – acts on ion channels (GABA-A and TRPV), promoting relaxation and calm. The oxidoreductases cytochrome P450, ALOX5, and cytochrome P450 are also affected by CBG. These enzymes play a role in inflammation and oxidative damage. CBG has a wide range of interactions with enzymes such as oxygenases and dehydrogenases. It also interacts positively with nuclear receptors including PPAR gamma. This leads to neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. CBG is associated with metabolic regulation because of its influence on kinases.
 – CBC – targets transferases (including kinases and methyltransferases), as well as capsid proteins and viral enzymes, supporting its antiviral activity. The anti-inflammatory effects and wound healing abilities of this compound may also be explained by its action on immune cytokines. CBC interacts with matrix metalloproteinases and heat shock proteins, which further support neuroprotection.
 – THCV – interacts with enzymes (dehydrogenases, oxygenases, PPAR gamma, and nuclear receptors), which are key to metabolic effects and neuroprotection. Also, it targets transcription factors, methyltransferases (as well as kinases), and methyltransferases to influence metabolic pathways. THCV is linked to neuroprotection and pain relief due to its action on capsid protein, viral enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases.
“THCV cannabis has adopted the nickname ‘diet weed’. Many assumed CB1/CB2 activity drove the weight‑loss effect, but BAIF shows additional metabolic pathways at play,” SSC explained.
Clinical testing cost reductions are dramatic

The development of cannabis drugs is the Holy Grail for most businesses in this field. The potential for advancing a drug from clinical trials to the market is hugely lucrative, and can also change the lives thousands of chronically ill patients.
Cannabis Europa, this year’s cannabis conference, discussed in depth the lack of success clinical trials as the biggest obstacle to the adoption of marijuana medicines by mainstream medicine.
Medical cannabis is not widely accepted by the mainstream medical profession due to a lack of clinical and scientific trials.
Both lawmakers and physicians have urged the industry repeatedly to supply this data. However, this is incredibly difficult, as well as extremely costly. Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies in the UK has fallen into administration due to funding problems.Â
Tufts (2016, JAMA (2020), CBO-2021) and Deloitte (2022) studies suggest the average cost to bring a new medicine from conception through clinical trials into the marketplace is between $1.3billion and $2.8billion.
SSC’s platform offers ‘a very strong initial starting point.’
The models are based upon known enzyme and protein behaviours as well as how molecules interact. We then validate the interaction or pathway experimentally once we have identified a promising one.
SSC invites nutraceutical and pharmaceutical brands, as well as wellness and health care companies, to submit their data. In exchange, they will receive a platform membership (based on the quality and quantity of that data). The initial members of this collaborative initiative include MCR Labs, Cannamatrix, Blazing-SEO, AnunaAI, Tetragram, and Real Cannabis Medicine Co.
The company plans to aggregate ‘massive amounts of real-world patient data’, then use this as a foundation to develop products, either as nutraceuticals or by pushing them through FDA botanical drug development approval.
SSC has developed tools to help streamline the regulatory process.
In the US, the FDA has only ever approved five plant-based medicines. There is an official guidance document on the development of botanical drugs, which we have aligned with our AI platform.
“We built a large AI system that automatically compiles everything needed for an IND — that’s an Investigational New Drug application — and prepares it for FDA submission. The public is now beginning to realize that this system can be used to effectively reschedule marijuana in the US.
The company also plans to match its platform with other countries’ strict regulatory paths, allowing companies to start their journeys of development via the system.
“One of the most exciting developments is that, with enough aggregate patient data, sponsors may petition the FDA to streamline, or in limited cases, skip early‑phase clinical trials for qualifying botanicals in the US, a pathway outlined in the FDA’s Botanical Drug Development Guidance when substantial prior human‑use and safety data already exist, jumping straight to Phase 3. It’s an enormous breakthrough both in time and cost.
Certainly, the use-cases of this technology and the potential consequences of its democratisation are among the most important the industry has seen. In the end, this technology could not only assist companies in discovering countless new medications, but also explain how and why they work to us all.
Public education, especially around the nuanced science of cannabis, has long been a barrier to mainstream adoption of plant‑based therapeutics. By translating complex cannabinoid data into clear, regulator‑ready language, BAIF offers access to the evidence needed to shift public perception and policy alike.