A Vancouver-based tech and cannabis company says that its wholly owned German narcotics manufacturer has "successfully incorporated peptide biosensors into its oral dissolvable thin film ('ODF') platform".

According to XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. CEO Hugh Rogers, this achievement by Vektor Pharma TF GmbH marks a "significant technical milestone" in its efforts to commercialize its technology.

"This was a critical step that unlocks a pipeline of potential biosensor screening products," Rogers said in a news release this morning.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. is working with a German biotech company, 3a-Diagnostic GmbH, to develop biosensors for infectious diseases, including Influenza A, scarlet fever, stomatitis, periimplantitis, and periodontitis.

In April, the two companies reached a technology purchase and licensing agreement for 3a to develop and commercialize "real-time, low-cost annd easy-to-use ODF screening tests using 3a's biosensors".

In the future, the two companies hope to create biosensors to detect the presence of COVID-19, as well as H1N1 and H5N1 strains of the flu. 

Their efforts are being funded by a €254,200 grant from the German federal government. 

"Positive detection of the respective pathogen results in enzymatic release of an extreme (but safe) compound," the XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. stated. 

In Vancouver, the company is best known for another subsidiary, XPhyto Laboratories Inc., which provides third-party analytic testing for cannabinoids, heavy metals, and pesticides for Canadian licensed producers of cannabis.

As of this writing, XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. shares are trading at $3.16 on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The company has a market capitalization of $175.6 million.