Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The Canadian Bioceutical Corporation (BCC) is an Ontario corporation that develops and markets unique specialty nutraceutical and bioceutical products for the treatment and prevention of common ailments where present pharmaceutical treatments and over-the-counter products fail to meet the needs of patients. BCC is striving to become the most successful and innovative bioceutical company in Canada, providing clients with the highest quality and most efficacious natural products. This project will focus on 1 of BCCs current 5 product lines called Reliéva. Reliéva is an anti-inflammatory skin treatment cream with clinically proven effectiveness in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and dry and problematic skin. With psoriasis affecting 1 million Canadians and eczema affecting 17% of Canadians at some time in their life (Canadian Dermatology Association, 2015), Reliéva will add a Health Canada regulated natural product line that currently has minimal competitors on the market. Reliéva contains highly concentrated extracts from the Mahonia Aquifolium shrub, which contains significant levels of alkaloid, berberine. BCC has patented an extraction process, increasing the concentration of the beneficial alkaloids by 75 times, however the process is very lengthy. It is necessary for the Canadian Bioceutical Corporation to develop a more efficient extraction process in order to meet the product demand and commercialize Reliéva. This project will seek to determine the effectiveness of supercritical CO2 extraction to generate a more efficient method for the extraction of isoquinoline alkaloids from Mahonia aquifolium. The use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) has increased dramatically for use on natural products as a result of non-toxic, non-flammable, odourless and tasteless properties and low cost. The proposed innovation presents an opportunity to develop a higher quality product with less solvent residue using a green technology, which in turn may be transferred to other product lines for the company. The Canadian Bioceutical Corporation will benefit greatly from this project with the development of a higher quality product, generated more efficiently and at a lower cost, all while using a safer and more environmentally responsible technology. Upon successful completion of this project, BCC will be able to begin expedited production of Reliéva, allowing them to begin signing contracts with distributors locally, nationally and internationally.