Celadon Pharmaceuticals Breaks Ground as First UK Medical Cannabis Group to Obtain Sales License

Celadon Pharmaceuticals has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first UK-based medical cannabis manufacturer to secure a Home Office license to sell its products domestically since the industry was opened in 2018. With this license, the London-listed company can now enter into supply agreements to sell its cannabis oil to specialist private clinics authorized to prescribe medical cannabis. It can also sell to universities and pharmaceutical companies for research and development purposes.

Previously, Celadon was only permitted to cultivate cannabis plants and produce high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis oil under its Home Office license. However, the company’s license was updated on Tuesday after its 100,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Birmingham received Good Manufacturing Practice registration from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in January.

Celadon CEO James Short considers this a tremendous milestone for the company, which was established in 2018. He anticipates that the company will begin generating revenue by the end of the year and achieve a quarter of positive EBITDA in 2024. Following the news, Celadon’s shares soared by 23% to £1.45, valuing the company at over £85 million.

Currently, the company’s manufacturing plant, which employs 34 staff, can cultivate approximately 3 tonnes of cannabis flower annually. However, once production is ramped up, the facility’s capacity is expected to increase to nearly 10 tonnes, potentially generating revenues of up to £90 million.

Before Celadon’s achievement, the only way to bring a cannabis product to the UK market was through MHRA approval following clinical trials. British manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals became the first company to have its cannabis-derived medicine prescribed on the NHS in 2018. It was later acquired by US drugmaker Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $7.2 billion in 2021.

Short emphasized that the UK is now open for business in the medical cannabis sector. The Department of Health and Social Care estimates that around 3 million chronic pain sufferers across the UK could be eligible for cannabinoid treatments. Since medical cannabis was legalized in the UK in 2018, an estimated 25,000 patients have been prescribed the drug, with an additional 1,000 patients receiving prescriptions each month, according to a study by Professor Mike Barnes, chair of the Cannabis Industry Council.

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Celadon Pharmaceuticals Breaks Ground as First UK Medical Cannabis Group to Obtain Sales License

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