AltMed Appoints Drug Discovery Researcher Dr. Christopher Witowski as Director of Laboratory and Processing Services
Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) June 17, 2015 -- AltMed LLC, the Florida company that brings pharmaceutical industry precision to the development and production of medical cannabis, announced today the appointment of Dr. Christopher Witowski as Director of Laboratory and Processing Services.
Following receipt of his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Florida State University, Dr. Witowski spent five years conducting research at the University of South Florida while pursuing his Ph.D.
His work included supervising drug discovery screenings of marine macro and microorganisms at the Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation. This was a hands on research initiative that included diving for marine organisms; then extracting, identifying, and analyzing compounds to discover potential cancer therapies, antibiotics, and other anti-infective drugs.
"The Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation is a premier research program that is very relevant to the innovations and breakthroughs that we will be generating in our labs at AltMed," said David Wright, CEO of AltMed. "Dr. Witowski is a rare talent in a new specialty area where those with extensive research experience in natural products drug discovery are difficult to find."
Dr. Witowski will spearhead AltMed's laboratory initiatives leading to research and testing involving cannabidiol (CBD), other cannabinoids, and their dosages and safe usage, while developing formulations that will enable smoke-free treatment of patients.
Dr. Witowski’s research focus has been on making discoveries from the natural environment, hence his fascination with expanding research and knowledge of the cannabis plant.
"I believe in using what nature gives us because nature is a better chemist than any person that will walk this earth can ever be, and we are just beginning to realize the potential of cannabis and the formulation possibilities for treating different ailments," said Dr. Witowski. "Cannabis presents unique possibilities because the crude natural cannabis plant material has therapeutic effects, which will allow us to test and create synergies among various extracts, with the potential to positively impact patients with specific conditions."
Dr. Witowski specializes in the natural products field including plant and microbial extract drug screening, working toward the discovery of new therapeutic treatments. His research has led to a long list of awards and publications.
Dr. Witowski will be based at AltMed's labs at its Sarasota, FL headquarters and he will travel extensively to collaborate with leading cannabis researchers around the world.
About AltMed LLC - AltMed is a fully integrated company that will bring pharmaceutical industry precision to the development, production and dispensing of medical cannabis. Established in early 2014 by a consortium of Sarasota residents, AltMed's Executive Chairman and its CEO are both former senior pharmaceutical executives. Their previous company, MedImmune (acquired by Astra Zeneca in 2007), produces a drug for the prevention of respiratory infections in infants.
Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent any statements made in this press release contain information that is not historical, these statements are forward-looking in nature and merely express our beliefs, expectations or opinions. For example, words such as “may,” “should,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “continues,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “potential,” “strategy” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations or estimates and involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) our ability to implement our business strategy of cultivating, processing, and dispensing high quality medical cannabis to qualified Florida patients; (ii) the legalization of medical grade cannabis production and use by the federal government; (iii) our ability to obtain licensing for medical cannabis production and distribution in Florida; (iv) availability and cost of additional capital; (v) our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified employees and management; (vi) the impact of federal, state or local government regulations; (vii) competition in the cannabis industry; (viii) our ability to generate revenues and (ix) litigation in connection with our business.
All forward-looking statements included in this press release and attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, regardless of whether new information becomes available, future developments occur or otherwise.
Colin Trethewey, AltMed, http://www.altmed.co/, +1 (813) 480-1354, [email protected]
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