Medical marijuana player MGC Pharmaceuticals has hit another major commercial milestone with construction now complete on the Perth-listed company's European cannabis extraction facility.
In a market update this week, MGC said construction of the facility, which includes a state-of-the-art clean room and cannabinoid extraction equipment, was finished on schedule and under budget in Europe.
The completed build of the facility, located in Slovenia, significantly bolsters MGC’s capabilities to produce cannabinoid -- the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis -- for use in medical cannabis products, including MGC’s own clinical trials in Australia and Europe, management said.
The extracted cannabis-derived product can also be used in the company’s growing dermatological and cosmetic business for sale on the wholesale market, MGC said in the update.
MGC co-founder and managing director Nativ Segev said: “Completing our European Extraction Facility is a significant commercial milestone for our company, giving us significant value chain benefits. We are now able to extract cannabinoids from the cannabis grown at our growing operations.
“These extracts will be used as inputs into our product lines and for use in clinical studies we plan to undertake. Having the capability to grow our own cannabis and extract material is a significant competitive advantage for MGC Pharmaceuticals.”
Also on the production side, MGC said it had advanced its growing operations at the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic. The company is preparing for planting of up to 1,000m2 of cannabis in the academy’s greenhouse facility, with the first harvest predicted for September this year.
MGC has been ramping up its Slovenian operations as it strengthens its unique position in the global medicinal cannabis market, pushing forward with development of both its medical research into marijuana uses as well as its cannabis-based cosmetic and dermatological lines.
The positive update from MGC comes after the company last month raised $10 million via an oversubscribed share placement at $0.065 a share.
MGC has previously said the funds would be used to further commercialise its growth objectives, including R&D of its medical-grade products targeted at the growing Europe, US and Australian markets for marijuana-derived products.
By Matt Birney
