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Former SCBio CEO heads cannabis treatment company

Molly Hulsey //May 4, 2021//

Former SCBio CEO heads cannabis treatment company

Molly Hulsey //May 4, 2021//

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When SC Biz News spoke with Sam Konduros in April following his decision to step down from his place at the helm of the state life science organization, SCBio, he said that starting new companies from the ground up “seems to be my calling card.”

This time, the venture is a personalized clinical cannabis treatment startup launched by Charleston-headquartered Vikor Scientific.

The startup, named KOR Medical, will provide tailored clinical cannabis treatment for patients suffering from ailments from epilepsy to cancer with an aim to help those patients while also alleviating the nation’s opioid addiction crisis, according to news release today.

Konduros said that KOR Medical was driven by Vikor Scientific’s “explosive growth” over the past three years, including its March release of the AI-driven Serenity, a liquid biopsy treatment program designed to prevent and mitigate the growth of cancer in the body.

Vikor Scientific founders Scotty Branch and Shea Harrelson noted that they are currently scouring the country for the ideal location for KOR Medical’s multi-million-dollar headquarters.

“They recently acquired a pathology lab in Tampa, and this will be the next significant diversification for the company,” Konduros said. “I will be highly focused in a CEO role, building and leading a new team of executives and developing facilities in relation to the company.”

Konduros noted that his transition from SCBio to KOR Medical will be a busy one due to the momentum the life science industry is creating in the state, which he said “will continue to propel the industry forward in new ways.”

KOR Medical expects to confirm a location by mid-Summer and launch its first products this year. The company has finalized its laboratory-grade indoor growing facility design and is forging business partnerships with players in the medicinal cannabis industry to prepare for full-scale production in 2022, according to the release.

“KOR Medical will be a highly innovative organization that will bring a new blueprint and novel value proposition to the national clinical cannabis marketplace, powered by an AI and blockchain supported seed to sale platform,” Branch said in the release.  “Coupled with a relentless commitment to personalized medicine and rigorous compliance and purity, KOR will focus on providing clinicians with the tools and data they need to support leading-edge treatment protocols for the needs of each unique patient.”

KOR Medical is bringing on four senior executives with experience in the clinical cannabis sector, including the company’s COO and executive vice president, Joseph Strauss. Strauss has worked in the medicinal cannabis industry across multiple states including Oregon, California, Colorado and Florida, according to the news release. Other corporate appointees will be announced in early summer.

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