Why start CReDO Science?
We have worked in the cannabis space for many years and have an acute awareness of the needs of the industry and its deficiencies. Some of this has come from working directly with companies and participating in their successes and failures. Similarly, we have strongly informed opinions as to opportunities for advancing the field and having insight into the “next big things.” We are very excited about the prospects for advancing our ideas, even in a challenging financial environment and under increasingly difficult public health conditions.
How can you manage this in the COVID-19 era, and with such a small team?
We are both very accustomed to working remotely and have done so for many years. Ethan wrote and edited a book with Franjo Grotenhermen over the course of two years before they ever met in person in 2001. He has worked for foreign companies for 14 of the last 17 years while still residing in rural areas of the USA. Thanks to modern networking tools, this new business model is increasingly practical and may become the norm in the era of worldwide pandemics.
Yes, we are a small team, but CReDO Science is driven by good ideas, and ones that require partners to see them through to their conclusion. We are relying on research and development partners that are “best in class” around the globe who are pre-eminent in their knowledge and share our philosophies about science toward the public good. We are still working and so are they.
Furthermore, we are not starting from scratch on any of these endeavors. Each has been well thought through, with advanced plans for their testing, publication and application. We have provisional patent applications in process for six projects and inventions, and several partner contracts in place. We have benefited from world-class legal assistance and feel that we can move forward with confidence.
Are you planning plant patents?
We feel that overly broad plant patents are untenable. Rather, we believe that genuine innovation, in which a new chemovar or plant attribute is developed through selective Mendelian breeding without genetic-modification or CRISPR technology, merits recognition and intellectual property protection. Mostly such work would be undertaken by our business partner, Breeder’s Best https://breedersbest.com/. We are also pursing IP protection for novel formulations, diagnostic tests and nutritional products.
Will these new products be trademarked?
Yes, in some instances. Ethan has resisted this temptation for many years, and the idea is a bit embarrassing to him. However, after hearing repeatedly that trademarks could lead to improved chances of success for safer health-promoting products that would support additional research, we are ready to pursue this approach for products that meet our philosophical and quality standards.
Why all the secrecy about your products?
There are millions of people around the world interested in cannabis-based medicines and products. Inevitably, an original idea cannot remain so for very long, and there will be a great deal of convergent evolution of ideas. Ethan has noted frequently that a concept that he’d had in mind was developed by someone else years later due to lack of research support at the moment. We are no longer satisfied to watch on the sidelines, but rather want to advance our own ideas and inventions in the here and now, hopefully to the benefit of many people.
