THC Global Group Ltd (ASX:THC) has secured a licence to manufacture therapeutic goods at its Southport Facility, completing all licenses required to commence commercial manufacture of medicinal cannabis.

The GMP Licence has been granted by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

A GMP Licence is a mandatory requirement for the commercial manufacture of medicinal cannabis in Australia and is mutually recognised for supply of pharmaceutical goods in 29 countries across Europe, Asia and Canada.

“A rarity in the cannabis world”

THC chief executive officer Ken Charteris said: “THC Global has now received a pharmaceutical GMP licence issued by a government authority, which remains a rarity in the cannabis world.

“We anticipate near-term completions of commercial negotiations with multiple parties interested in our scalability, quality of production and ability to compete on price globally.”

One of the world’s largest cannabis facilities

The GMP Licence authorises THC to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) extracts; formulation and packaging of medicines; on-site testing and analysis; and supply of medicinal cannabis for human trials in Australia and globally.

THC’s Southport Facility is the largest pharmaceutical bio-floral extraction facility in the Southern Hemisphere and is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical GMP licenced facilities for the manufacture of medicinal cannabis.

With the receipt of the GMP Licence, THC will now seek to complete negotiations for the export supply of cannabis medicines.

The European design and equipment origin of the Southport facility meets key requirements for entering the rapidly expanding European market, differentiating THC from almost all established cannabis companies internationally.

Australian grown cannabis to be used

On January 2 2020, the Office of Drug Control clarified that appropriately licensed and permitted organisations may import cannabis material, including extracts, for use in manufacture.

THC will utilise Australian grown cannabis and imported crude extract to accelerate its timeline for local manufacture.

This approach will ensure THC can scale towards full site capacity as it increases domestic and international market reach.

Production of medicines has commenced under the oversight of newly appointed chief operating officer of THC, Angela Macquire.

Angela’s significant experience in the pharmaceuticals industry at various senior-executive levels, and direct experience in medicinal cannabis formulation and Australian clinical trials, will be of significant benefit to the company as production volumes continue to grow through 2020.