Terradiol pledges gift to promote patient safety through technology

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Terradiol and New York Canna have pledged $100,000 to support research by SUNY Distinguished Professor Gene Morse in the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Morse, PharmD, director of the school’s Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences, will lead the research on global cannabinoid sciences, using health information technology to develop models that promote patient safety.  

“This gift will create programs that will lead to new systems and an infrastructure that is needed to advance clinical use of cannabinoids in patients with diseases that represent significant global medical challenges” Morse said.

James O’Donnell, PhD, dean of the UB pharmacy school, thanked Terradiol for its pledged support, which is scheduled to be paid in full to the school by mid-November 2017.

“We welcome this corporate partnership, which ensures our research team will have the resources it requires to make a thorough investigation into this emerging area of pharmacy and medicine,” O’Donnell said.

Through its pledged funding, Terradiol hopes to help Morse and his team develop an integrated system for patient safety and therapeutic efficacy of cannabinoids. Once realized, the pledged gift will help the center build the foundation for understanding key aspects of patient safety in patients receiving cannabinoid treatments for a variety of health issues.

No comprehensive patient safety system yet exists for patients in settings using cannabinoids obtained through state-regulated dispensaries. Such a system is needed “to monitor the formulations and their clinical results,” according to Jeffrey Lombardo, PharmD, research assistant professor and associate director of UB’s Empire State Patient Safety Assurance Network, which uses de-identified patient medical records to implement patient safety evaluation systems for clinical practice sites.

John Vavalo, chairman and CEO of Terradiol, said the company is honored to pledge support to Morse and his research team at UB.

"We are confident the programs established by the University at Buffalo team will lead to new strategies to assist patients receiving medical marijuana through linkages with the Empire State Patient Safety Assurance Network and the cannabinoid sciences program at the Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences,” Vavalo said.