Adele Hosseini has been elected president of the Australian and New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners (ANZCCP).
She takes over from Dr Orit Holtzman, who had assumed the role from Dr Gull Herzberg in 2024 before stepping down.
Dr Holtzman moves into the vice president position.
Hosseini, who spent nearly six years at Bod Science, said she was "honoured" to take the role.
"I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to continue advancing education, research, and excellence in the field of cannabinoid medicine," she said.
Additional appointments confirmed at the ANZCCP AGM include founding board member Dr Imran Khan, who was named secretary, while Dr Daphna Dor-Shiffer continues as treasurer.
Nurse Practitioner Lisa Dick and Dr Michael Murphy are also staying on the board.
The ANZCCP holds its annual conference this weekend.
Avecho Biotechnology
Three additional sites are set to begin recruiting patients for Avecho Biotechnology's low-dose CBD insomnia trial, following the licensing agreement reached with pharmaceutical company Sandoz in early March.
Regulatory preparations are nearly finalised at two Sydney locations and one on the Gold Coast, with recruitment anticipated to get underway early this month.
Each site has its own database of insomnia patients, "providing an immediate and valuable pool of prospective participants", Avecho said.
To date, 70 patients have received Avecho's soft-gel medication. The trial is targeting an additional 140 participants to allow an interim analysis to proceed, with Avecho aiming to complete dosing within this calendar year.
Chief executive Dr Paul Gavin said a US$3 million (A$4.8m) upfront payment from Sandoz, part of a 10-year agreement, has provided the capital needed to speed up ongoing research and commercial activities.
"With ample capital to complete our phase III trial through to interim analysis, our primary focus is to advance the study to this key inflection point as swiftly as possible," he said.
Avecho is aiming to become the first company to receive registration from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for an over-the-counter, low-dose CBD product.
The company also reported $560,000 in revenue for the three months to March, generated through the production of Vital-ET, a personal care product made for its US partner Ashland.
Cann Group
Cann Group has been granted an A$836,000 advance against its FY25 research and development tax incentive.
The funding comes from Radium Capital and will be repaid once Cann Group receives its R&D refund later in 2025.
Cann Group chief executive Jenni Pilcher said the advance will "support Cann's strategy of supplying the medicinal cannabis market with unique products developed through the R&D activities of the company".
