Two people smoking the same joint can have very different experiences, as anyone who’s shared a spliff with friends knows well. One can be couch-bound after a few puffs, while the other is active and chatty.
This is partly to do with tolerance, built up through frequent use. But it also has to do with genetics; some bodies are genetically predisposed to metabolize THC more slowly than others.
Several companies that provide personalized genetic profiling – popularized by companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com – have set their sights the cannabis space. Toronto firms DNALabs Canada and Lobo Genetics Inc. are both pitching their services to marijuana users, offering tests they say show whether someone is genetically predisposed to bad highs or even cannabis-induced mental health problems.
"We look at genes involved in how drugs are metabolized by the liver. If you metabolize a drug too slowly, then it builds up in your system, and you can have too much… Likewise if you metabolize too quickly, it could clear out of your body so fast it never really works,” said DNALabs chief science officer Aaron Goldman, former director of genomics services at the University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital Clinical Genomics Centre.
DNALabs, which offers consumer genetic testing focused on drug efficacy and nutrition, began offering a cannabis-focused test called “TestMyTolerance” on Oct. 17. For $199, the company will process a sample of your saliva and tell you whether you have genetic variations that impact your ability to metabolize THC and CBD and put you at increased risk of cannabis-induced psychosis. The test, which takes two to four weeks to process, is being pitched to recreational consumers and medical patients alike.
"If you have an elevated or high risk of psychosis and you're a slow metabolizer of THC, then the report would inform you of that, inform your doctor of that, and let you know you should look for strains that are low in THC, or start with very low doses,” Mr. Goldman said.
Lobo Genetics, a spin-off of Ottawa-biotech firm Spartan Bioscience Inc., is targeting the same consumers, and has raised more than $5-million to bring its test to market. Spartan is known for its palm-sized cubes – “the world’s smallest molecular diagnostic device,” the company claims – that are used to determine the efficacy of certain cardiac drugs and to identify Legionella bacteria in water droplets.
Lobo was born earlier this year when several cannabis companies approached Spartan about using its equipment in cannabis clinics, said Lobo CEO John Lem, who co-founded Spartan with his brother Paul Lem. Rather than selling the cubes to clinics, Mr. Lem launched a new company focused on commercializing Spartan technology in the cannabis space.
Lobo’s go-to-market strategy is two-pronged. There’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce, where Lobo mails cheek swab kits to users, who collect samples and mail them back to Lobo for processing. Then there’s in-clinic or in-dispensary tests, using boxes leased from Lobo.
In both cases, the company’s main pitch is the speed with which Spartan cubes can process results. While most consumer genetics labs take several weeks to process samples and send back reports, Lobo claims its boxes can deliver “personalized results in under an hour.”
“In a medical setting, if I'm trying to figure out a prescription for pain, I'm not going to tell a person to come back in a month while we figure out your genetics," Mr. Lem said. His hope is that Lobo boxes become integrated into the normal process of prescribing cannabis, becoming a staple of both cannabis clinics and pharmacies. Tests are expected to be priced between $50 and $100, and the company is targeting a full launch in early 2019
DNALabs and Lobo aren’t the only companies circling the personalized DNA test market for cannabis. Florida firm MelixGX is offering a similar test for US$249.99. And licensed producer Aleafia Health Inc. announced Tuesday that it’s partnered with several genetics companies to study, “genetic screen tools in the areas of THC-CBD sensitivity and metabolism.”