Australian company Bioxyne (ASX:BXN) is to receive funding from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) to establish its UK medicinal cannabis manufacturing and distribution facility.
Bioxyne is the parent company of the Breathe Life Sciences Group, which is focused on investigational and psychotropic medicines, healthcare technology, and novel consumer health products. As well as its Australian presence, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, Japan, Czechia, Germany, and the United States.
The company announced yesterday that through Breathe Life Sciences UK Ltd (BLSUK), the company had received ~£850,000 in funding commitments from SOSE, which is the economic development agency for the South of Scotland.
The SOSE commitment consists of a five-year £500,000 loan facility and a grant award of £348,250.
A site in the Scottish Borders region has already been selected for that GMP manufacturing site facility that will be of equivalent size to Breathe’s Australian facility. As well as becoming a significant provider of manufacturing and distribution services to the UK medicinal cannabis market, the project will also be a major employer in the Scottish Borders region.
“Existing manufacturing infrastructure in UK is insufficient to keep up with local demand, and that’s an opportunity for BLSUK to enter and grow with the market,” said Bioxyne Limited CEO Sam Watson. “BLSUK has a growing UK customer base, establishing our UK facility is critical to offering clients our renowned quality and service levels, and replicating our Australian success internationally.”
Site fit-out and application to the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Home Offices for the necessary licences will be completed next year.
In other recent news from Bioxyne, the company announced early this month via Breathe Life Sciences it had inked an exclusive import, manufacture and supply agreement with Curaleaf International for Australia involving Curaleaf’s medicinal cannabis inhaler and cartridges in Australia.
An application has been lodged with Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which has approved importation subject to an import permit being issued by the Office of Drug Control for Vaping Goods.
Commenting on that deal, Mr. Watson said:
“This collaboration represents an important step in expanding access to regulated, medically compliant inhalation technology in Australia. The arrangement strengthens Bioxyne’s position within the medical device sector and supports our commitment to ensuring that high quality, compliant delivery systems are available for use within the Australian therapeutic framework.”
Curaleaf International is a division of Curaleaf Holdings Inc., a medical and adult use cannabis business based in the United States.
