Grant: Technology Access Centre

As a Technology Access Centre, the Applied Research Centre for Natural Products and Medical Cannabis (ARC) at Loyalist College will focus on supporting innovation through increasing industries access to sector relevant expertise and technology. This initiative is a natural progression for the ARC and builds on a successful 15-year track record in applied research of commercially relevant natural products. There is an unprecedented demand for applied research and product development for the natural product, hops and cannabis sectors in Canada and all are experiencing significant growth. Natural health products are expected to reach $68 billion in global sales by 2020 and changes to the recent cannabis legislation has resulted in substantial growth for the medical cannabis sector as well. Further, with the new Cannabis Act in place and plans for concentrates and edibles planned for 2019, there are tremendous opportunities for applied research, technology adoption and product development. The rapid growth of these sectors has provided a unique opportunity for the ARC at Loyalist College to support business innovation. Loyalist was the first College in Canada to receive a Health Canada license under the previous Narcotic Control Regulations to investigate cannabis. The TAC initiative will provide an environment for college-industry partnerships to thrive while providing students with unparalleled opportunities for work-integrated learning; investigating extraction, isolation, formulation and product development for the global market.