Lexington, Ky. and Centennial, Colo. – ValidCare, the hemp industry’s leading market intelligence and consumer research platform, and the University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF) today announced they have entered into a services agreement to advance the research of hemp-derived products. The agreement will give hemp-derived product companies access to the broad resources of each organization to conduct clinical and/or observational research related to hemp-derived products and their effects on humans and animals.
With the recent passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was federally de-classified from Schedule 1 drug status and awaits new regulatory classification by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Earlier this year, the FDA petitioned the industry to provide safety and efficacy data to the agency so that it may appropriately regulate products containing the increasingly popular ingredient cannabidiol, also known as CBD.
ValidCare Research Solutions is answering that call, providing hemp-derived product companies with end-to-end research program management and the ability to automate research protocols, education and data collection via its HIPAA compliant app-based research platform.
Said ValidCare CEO Patrick McCarthy, “Reputable companies are eager to conduct research and better understand the effects of hemp-derived products and their cannabinoid components, like CBD, CBG and CBN, on humans and animals. ValidCare is well positioned to help, and we can’t think of a better research partner than the University of Kentucky Research Foundation.”
“Kentucky is arguably the epicenter of the resurgence of the hemp industry,” said University of Kentucky Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis. “The university is engaged in hemp research and has been instrumental in FDA-approved studies involving cannabis-based drugs. We have the experience and resources to support ValidCare in conducting data-driven studies to validate hemp-based products’ effects on humans and animals.”
Under the new agreement, ValidCare’s clients will receive access to world-class research resources, including Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, principal investigators, study design, laboratory access, data analysis and publication. From the colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environment to Medicine and Pharmacy, and from data sciences to population health and equine research, ValidCare will have access to an array of highly specialized resources in order to design, execute and accelerate meaningful research on hemp-derived products.
About ValidCare
ValidCare, LLC is the market intelligence and research platform for the hemp-derived product industry, powered by real-time consumer experiences. Through the ValidCare community, participants including consumers, product suppliers, researchers, and providers, come together to study, educate, measure and document the consumer experience using hemp-based products. ValidCare’s app based platform supports ongoing two-way communication, combining self-reported consumer data with advanced machine learning to deliver aggregated insights that help improve product quality, consistency, effectiveness, and the adoption of industry standards.
About University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. The University of Kentucky Research Foundation (UKRF), a not-for-profit Kentucky corporation, was established in 1945 to receive, invest and expend funds to promote and implement scientific, educational and developmental activities at UK. UKRF serves as the university’s agent in the receipt of all external grants and contracts, intellectual property income and other designated income; oversees the protection, development and commercialization of intellectual properties; and manages special cooperative agreements.