New at Farmako

The new THC test kit for the identity testing of medical cannabis

Farmako now offers pharmacies innovative assistance

Frankfurt, December 2020.

It has never been so uncomplicated, fast and cost-effective. Pharmacies can now easily, quickly, reliably and cost-effectively perform identity testing of THC-containing medicinal cannabis flowers as well as cannabis extracts with the new Farmako THC test kit.

According to §11 of the Apothekenbetriebsordnung (ApBetrO), pharmacists have to test starting materials, the quality of which is proven by a test certificate, at least for identity. In the case of medicinal cannabis, qualitative detection of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is usually achieved in a DAB-compliant manner using thin-layer chromatography (DC). This method is effective but involves an enormous amount of time, labour and disproportionate material costs.

The test strips available on the market so far do not offer efficient relief either. Here, pharmacists have to elaborately produce their own testing solution and also consume a lot of the actual cannabis material for testing - this causes increased costs for the pharmacist AND the patient!

Farmako now offers pharmacies a remedy: With the new Farmako THC test kit, a very fast, validated and economical THC identity test is now possible in only 5 minutes, without much time and material expenditure.

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Advantages for pharmacies

Quickly

Testing with the THC test kit takes only 5 minutes in total. Compared to thin-layer chromatography (30 minutes) and other available test strips (incl. preparation material and test solution > 10 minutes) an enormous time saving!

Simple & Uncomplicated

No pre-treatment of the cannabis material is necessary. The test solution is already included in the test kit. Just add water, shake and immediately dip test strips.

Validated

THC rapid test method validated for flowers & extracts regarding DAB conformity by a certified testing laboratory (DSI-pharm, Quality Services International GmbH). Pharmacies thus have certainty regarding the equivalence of the test method with thin-layer chromatography.

Economical

Affordable price with minimal materials and labor. Pharmacies save time and money on testing and don't have to waste valuable cannabis material for patients. An economic advantage for pharmacies AND patients.

Contents of one package:

  • 5x THC rapid test strips (immunoassay test)
  • 5x ready-to-use test solution in 2 ml reaction vials (methanol)
  • Test guide
  • Test validation for flowers & extracts

Test method with the test kit:

The validated test method is based on an immunoassay test strip and a prepared test solution (methanol in
reaction vials) included in the test kit. For qualitative detection of THC, only very
little flower material (5-20mg) or extract (1-2 drops) has to be added to the reaction vessel. After adding water and shaking the
reaction vessel, the test strip can immediately be dipped into the still phase-bound test emulsion. After an immersion phase of 30-50 seconds the strip has to be dried. After 5 minutes the result can already be read off. Lines in the test or control zone of the strip indicate the negative or positive test result of the THC identity test.

All necessary test materials are already included in the test kit.
Only water needs to be added.

Note: Product contains methanol (Hazardous substance EC No.: 200-659-6)
CLP hazard class and category: Flam. Liq. 2, Acute Tox. 3/3/3
(oral/dermal/inhalation), STOT SE 1
Observe safety data sheet regarding use and disposal.

Legal framework & validation

According to §11 of the Pharmacy Operations Regulations (ApBetrO), pharmacists must at least test starting materials, the quality of which is proven by a test certificate, for identity. According to §6 paragraph 1 sentence 2 ApBetrO, a pharmacy may apply other methods and use other devices for this identity check instead of the test methods specified in the DAB (according to DAB "cannabis extract" and DAB "cannabis flowers" this is thin layer chromatography), provided that the same results are achieved as with the methods and devices described.
The supervision of pharmacies with regard to the interpretation of the DAB is the responsibility of the competent official pharmacists or pharmacy departments. Since there is no nationwide uniform regulation, pharmacies should coordinate with the responsible official pharmacists or pharmacy departments regarding the identity check.

In order to provide pharmacies with certainty regarding compliance with the ApBetrO, Farmako has validated the testing method with the new, patent-protected THC test kit for both flowers (Bedrocan variety) and extracts (Farmako 50 cannabis extract). The validation was carried out by the Bremen-based certified testing laboratory for pharmaceutical analytics, DSI-pharm, Quality Services International GmbH.

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