Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tags: Research & Development, Product Development, Innovation, Leadership, Cannabis Investment
Moderator: Andrea Baillo, PhD (Rooted For Success)
Panelists: Dr. Harold Han (@vertosainc.6540 ), Kimberly Sanchez Rael (Azuca), James Boelle (@athenacultivation)
In today’s volatile cannabis market, innovation has never been more essential or more difficult to sustain. While scientific breakthroughs in formulations, delivery systems, and cannabinoids continue to emerge, many never reach consumers. Market forces favoring low-cost, high-THC products, combined with regulatory complexity and capital constraints, deprioritize long-term innovation in favor of short-term survival.
This panel brings together leaders across science, capital, and business to explore how companies are finding ways forward and bridging the gap between breakthrough ideas and sustainable market success. Panelists will share strategies for navigating financial and operational barriers, building resilience in a constrained capital environment, and leading innovation in an industry where volatility is the norm.
0:00 - Introductions: Innovating in the Cannabis Market
2:53 - The Biggest Barriers to Market Success
3:30 - How to Overcome Regulatory Fragmentation
7:55 - The Role of Scrappy Innovation and Trade-Offs
15:57 - Maintaining Scientific Rigor Under Pressure
17:56 - Aligning Science, Business, and Capital
20:11 - The Business Case for Fast-Acting Products
23:16 - Beyond THC: Future of Cannabinoids and Consumer Trust
26:01 - Building Trust with Standardized Compliance
28:56 - What It Takes to Commercialize Breakthroughs
32:45 - The Importance of Courageous Leadership 36:31 - Conclusion
37:21 - Q&A: Transparency, Integrity, and the Future of Cannabis
Learn More about CannMed: cannmedevents.com
Sign Up for Our Newsletter: share.hsforms.com/1oi57oJDnRN-Uqqc9YPByRA20xr2
The CannMed 25 Innovation & Investment Summit showcased its first international venue, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Puerto Rico from June 17 - 20, 2025. Since its inception at Harvard Medical School in 2016, CannMed has earned a reputation as the premier destination for cutting-edge research, emerging technologies, and investment opportunities. CannMed 25 continues this tradition with medicinal plant researchers, clinicians and venture capitalists who view this Summit as the industry’s number one showcase for the latest advances in plant-based science, medicine, cultivation, and safety.
Tags: Research & Development, Product Development, Innovation, Leadership, Cannabis Investment
Moderator: Andrea Baillo, PhD (Rooted For Success)
Panelists: Dr. Harold Han (@vertosainc.6540 ), Kimberly Sanchez Rael (Azuca), James Boelle (@athenacultivation)
In today’s volatile cannabis market, innovation has never been more essential or more difficult to sustain. While scientific breakthroughs in formulations, delivery systems, and cannabinoids continue to emerge, many never reach consumers. Market forces favoring low-cost, high-THC products, combined with regulatory complexity and capital constraints, deprioritize long-term innovation in favor of short-term survival.
This panel brings together leaders across science, capital, and business to explore how companies are finding ways forward and bridging the gap between breakthrough ideas and sustainable market success. Panelists will share strategies for navigating financial and operational barriers, building resilience in a constrained capital environment, and leading innovation in an industry where volatility is the norm.
0:00 - Introductions: Innovating in the Cannabis Market
2:53 - The Biggest Barriers to Market Success
3:30 - How to Overcome Regulatory Fragmentation
7:55 - The Role of Scrappy Innovation and Trade-Offs
15:57 - Maintaining Scientific Rigor Under Pressure
17:56 - Aligning Science, Business, and Capital
20:11 - The Business Case for Fast-Acting Products
23:16 - Beyond THC: Future of Cannabinoids and Consumer Trust
26:01 - Building Trust with Standardized Compliance
28:56 - What It Takes to Commercialize Breakthroughs
32:45 - The Importance of Courageous Leadership 36:31 - Conclusion
37:21 - Q&A: Transparency, Integrity, and the Future of Cannabis
Learn More about CannMed: cannmedevents.com
Sign Up for Our Newsletter: share.hsforms.com/1oi57oJDnRN-Uqqc9YPByRA20xr2
The CannMed 25 Innovation & Investment Summit showcased its first international venue, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Puerto Rico from June 17 - 20, 2025. Since its inception at Harvard Medical School in 2016, CannMed has earned a reputation as the premier destination for cutting-edge research, emerging technologies, and investment opportunities. CannMed 25 continues this tradition with medicinal plant researchers, clinicians and venture capitalists who view this Summit as the industry’s number one showcase for the latest advances in plant-based science, medicine, cultivation, and safety.
