Cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd soars on food supplement product deal
The company is also carrying out clinical trials of ArtemiC into the treatment of COVID-19
( ) shares soared 90% higher on the back of the cannabis company’s first deal to supply its food supplement product.
The company, which has corporate headquarters in Australia, an operational base in Slovenia and European corporate headquarters in the UK, floated in London last week after a £6.5mln fundraising at 1.475p per share.
Mid-morning on Thursday, the shares hit 9.25p, a rise of 94% on the day and up 527% since the London IPO.
Today’s deal is an exclusive master supply and distribution agreement for its ArtemiC Rescue product with leading European nutraceutical producer and distributor, Swiss , and the company said it provides “direct access large and rapidly growing markets that are still reporting high numbers of COVID-19 cases”.
Read more: MGC Pharmaceuticals signs supply and distribution agreement with Swiss PharmaCan
The significance of coronavirus in the deal is that MGC Pharma is also carrying out clinical trials of ArtemiC into the treatment of COVID-19.
These COVID trials are employing a delivery system that is also starting to be tested in MGC’s ongoing pre-clinical research program into the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of aggressive glioblastoma brain cancer, the company said earlier this week.
Budding scene
One of a growing number of companies in this sub-sector that are floating in London after regulatory changes in recent years culminated with the City watchdog giving the green light for medicinal cannabis companies to list their shares publicly, MGC became the first cannabis-sector company to float on the main market of the LSE.
This week the Anglo-Aussie firm was joined by Kanabo Group, a maker of vaporisation and inhalation technology for cannabis.
Others lining up to join them include , a consumer CBD brands business; , which last week struck a deal to import products from cannabis and pharma colossus Tilray; , which aims to lead the development of a new pharmaceutical-grade hemp cultivation industry on the isle of Jersey; and South West Brands, a multi-brand consumer goods group developed specifically for the CBD industry.
READ: European cannabis first-mover Northern Leaf has a clear line of sight to LSE listing
Investment company FastForward Innovations Ltd () is an investor in Kanobo, South West Brands and has several other cannabis related interests.
On London’s Aquis Growth Exchange there is also (LON:LIFE OTCQB:WRHLF), an investment company focused on the medicinal cannabis, hemp and CBD industries, and Sativa Wellness Group Inc (), which last week submitted its novel food application for validation to the UK’s food standards regulator.
Read More: Cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd soars on food supplement product deal