Portuguese army commits to medical cannabis production

According to Cannareporter, Portugal’s National Medicines Laboratory (LNM), an institution under the Portuguese Ministry of Defense, is making progress on the production of medical cannabis.

LNM, which has historical ties to the Portuguese military, recently signed a contract to build cleanrooms for medical cannabis. This initiative, costing approximately 183,000 euros, is intended to meet the medical needs of Portuguese patients by offering a potential alternative or complement to existing pharmaceutical options.

The Contract and the Construction of the Cleanroom

According to information provided by Cannareporter, the contract, signed in August 2023, covers the construction of cleanrooms. The contract calls for a completion period of 144 days and was awarded to TypeSolution S.A., a company specializing in consulting for laboratory and industrial equipment. TypeSolution S.A. has worked with several Portuguese clients in the medical cannabis sector, including Tilray, CannPrisma, and LabialFarma.

Although Portuguese law allows LNM to contribute to the production of cannabis-based medicines, the specific nature of its involvement remains unclear. The LNM’s involvement in cannabis could help ease the bureaucratic burden associated with authorizations for exceptional use (the equivalent of France’s ATUs) and reduce the high acquisition costs of existing cannabis-based medicines such as the’Epidyolex or the Sativex.

However, the exact objectives of the infrastructure currently under development and whether LNM intends to create specific cannabis-based medicinal products remain unclear, as Cannareporter has not received a more detailed response from LNM.

SkanAbility Project and Research Consortium

The LNM is also participating in the «SkanAbility» project, a research consortium launched in 2020. This project, involving industry partners, the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Lisbon, and the University of Minho, aimed to develop formulations for functional cosmetics and aromatherapy incorporating cannabinoids and terpenes.

The objective of the project, as detailed in the text, was to create formulations—including creams, emulsions, topical products, and enriched oils—containing purified cannabinoids and terpenes extracted from flowers or from cannabis leaves.

The LNM’s role in the «SkanAbility» project—specifically designated as «T106»—was to establish a cannabis biobank using biological samples and recording comprehensive characterization data. Cannareporter suggests that the planning and design of the biobank’s support structure have been completed, and that the implementation of the physical infrastructure is underway.

In addition, the LNM states that it has carried out another crucial task related to the project: the planning and creation of a quality management plan for the handling of biological samples. The goal is to ensure the safety, transport, storage, and traceability of the processes associated with the proper preservation and handling of samples. Additional mention is made of the development of a digital registry dedicated to managing the biobank’s database.