Researchers specializing in infectious disease at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada are turning to cannabis as they build a new COVID-19 virus vaccine candidate. The research team says that a plant-based antigen may be easier to produce commercially on a broad scale than animal-based antigens.

Zyus Life Sciences, a medical cannabis company based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, will determine if cannabis-based compounds can play a role in the fight against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Last year, the company received its license from Health Canada to develop cannabis-based medical products.

Zyus Life Sciences partnered with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan in an effort to develop proteins for a vaccine candidate using the cannabis plant. It is one of many efforts in the race for a viable vaccine.