NGBiLab S3.E10: Kare Chemical Technologies

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Kare Chemical Technologies is a synthetic chemistry company working on something that sounds unlikely but could change how we treat chronic pain. By converting a byproduct of citrus orange peels into pharmaceutical grade cannabinoids, the company is developing non-psychoactive alternatives to opioids for patients dealing with long-term pain.In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with co-founder and COO Kareem Abdur-Rashid about a company that began with a family member's diagnosis, a father's decades of experience in organometallic chemistry, and a young scientist who signed up before fully realizing what he was getting into. Kareem walks through how the technology works, how the company bootstrapped its way to its first licensee, and why chronic pain remains one of the most underfunded areas in pharmaceutical development.This conversation is a candid look at early stage entrepreneurship from someone who is still in the thick of it, learning as he goes and building something that could genuinely help people get their lives back.We thank the NRC for supporting the NGBi podcasts. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is the Government of Canada's largest federal research and technology organization, focused on accelerating innovation, research, and development.