MGC Pharma is soon to be admitted to the London Stock Exchange

MGC Pharma’s shares to trade on the LSE under the stock ticker MXC, the same as its ASX code
Admission to LSE will position the company for its next phase of growth and development
IPO to raise $8.95m from UK institutional and sophisticated investors to advance cannabinoid medicines

Biotech company MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) will start trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) later this month when its shares are listed on the UK’s premier stock market.

MGC Pharma will become one of the first cannabis-sector companies to list on the main market of the London Stock Exchange through an IPO under the stock code MXC.

The company’s IPO is aimed at raising 5 million pounds ($8.95m) of capital from UK institutional funds and sophisticated investors through London-based equity broker Turner Pope.

“Our listing is the culmination of the last six years of hard work, positioning MGC Pharma as a leader in the emerging phytocannabinoid pharmaceutical sector,” co-founder and managing director, Roby Zomer, said.

The LSE listing will significantly raise the biotech company’s profile with international investors and provide it with direct access to UK and European institutional investors.

Its London listing also aligns with the company’s growing European operations including its production and research facilities in Malta and Slovenia.

“Admission will reflect our European-based research operations, as well as enabling the company to engage with investors in the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East,” Zomer added.

MGC Pharma’s legal advisers for the LSE listing are Memery Crystal, and its financial adviser is PKF.

MGC retains ASX listing in Australia

MGC Pharma will retain its primary listing on the ASX market, giving the company dual-listed status in having its shares trade on two different stock markets.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to progress phase three clinical trials for its anti-inflammatory medicine, and phase two trials for its CannEpil drug, and to drive sales of its product range in countries including Brazil and in Europe.

Zomer said he was delighted with the company’s admission to the LSE which will “position MGC Pharma for the next phase of its growth and development”.

The biopharma company has a ‘nature to medicine’ approach to its business whereby it develops plant-based and cannabinoid medicines to treat widespread clinical conditions.

MGC Pharma is conducting research into three core areas — autoimmune diseases, neurology and oncology — including its anti-inflammatory treatment for COVID-19 symptoms.

Research partnerships have been formed with a range of international institutions in countries including Australia, India, Israel, Malta and Slovenia.

MGC Pharma is carrying out research with the National Institute of Biology and the Neurosurgery Department at the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana in Slovenia.

The new research will focus on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) in the treatment of glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that originates in the brain or spinal cord.

The cannabinoid biopharma company is involved in the development of several other medicines to address illnesses such as Crohn’s, colitis, and cachexia which causes muscle loss.

MGC Pharma earned revenue of $2.1m in the 2020 financial year, and the company expects to build on the momentum of its rising revenue growth in the 2021 financial year.

The biopharma’s flagship products include phytocannabinoid-derived medicines for refractory epilepsy, CannEpil, and another designed to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Also, the company’s affordable MP product line leverages Pharma-grade compounded products derived from high-CBD through to high-THC formulations.

MGC Pharma has distribution networks for its cannabinoid medicines in Australia, Brazil and the UK.