COMPANY

Name: SorsaMED

Legal Name: SorsaMED, Inc

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Founded: 2017

Founder(s): Lisa Yancey and Lynnette Kaid

Website: https://www.sorsamed.com/ 

INDUSTRY – Global Medical Cannabinoids Market

Size: $13.4B in 2018 (Source)

Projections: $44B by 2024 (Source)

Introduction

SorsaMED is a biotechnology company that is working on developing a new proprietary line of therapeutic proteins infused with cannabinoids. These therapeutic proteins will be aimed at chronic pain management and relief, with a specific focus on sickle cell anemia. SorsaMED is currently in its pre-clinical phase and is engaged with the University of California San Diego for the first phase of research and development. 

The Product 

SorsaMED uses clean technology practices to bio-engineer cells that are designed to offer more effective therapeutic solutions for chronic pain. It is exploring partnerships with contract manufacturers to use its cell lines for developing cannabinoid-enriched products for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. 

The startup aims to develop an effective alternative to the use of opioids in pain relief medication and subsequently reduce the cases of addiction, which have risen significantly across the USA over the past couple of years. 

Origin and Founding Team 

Lynette Kaid is the CEO of SorsaMED, while Lisa Yancey handles the strategic and business end of the venture. 

The inspiration behind SorsaMED was Lynette’s own personal experience with her mother who passed away from sickle cell-related complications when Lynette was 10. She also has several family members who are living with sickle cell disease – a condition that affects a significant number of people of color. 

A few years ago, Lynnette and Lisa were exploring business opportunities within the cannabis industry. While researching the area, they attended a cannabis and technology conference in Tel Aviv, where they witnessed several discussions on the medicinal benefits of cannabinoids. Although most speakers referred to common chronic pain conditions such as cancer, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, glaucoma, epilepsy, food and mood disorders, there was no mention of sickle cell disease. 

Lynnette identified an opportunity to explore the prospect of developing plant-based alternatives to synthetic drugs for chronic pain that could be infused with medicinal cannabinoids. She discussed the idea with Lisa Yancey, who reached out to her brother Dr. Dennis Yancey, a metabolic and chemical engineer, to determine the viability of such a solution. Following this, they created the business plan to commercially market their cannabinoid-infused cell lines after consulting with biotechnology experts on the scientific possibilities of the solution. 

In order to access facilities for the research and development stage, the team established necessary legal protections and contracts with the head of biotechnology at the University of California San Diego. SorsaMED is currently in the final stages of the first phase indicating proof of concept.  

Performance and Trends

SorsaMED was selected by Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator for its 2019 cohort.