Little Green Pharma acquires world-class GMP facility in Denmark

Case

Little Green Pharma acquires world-class GMP facility in Denmark

Little Green Pharma accelerates its expansion in Europe as the industry is rapidly consolidating in Denmark. Since the Danish medical cannabis pilot program started in 2018, international investment in the production and downstream processing of medical cannabis has flowed into Denmark.

When

05.07.2021

Little Green Pharma, headquartered in Australia but with strong distribution channels throughout Europe, has acquired a world-class facility to accelerate its strategic focus on the European market by over two years ahead of planned timelines and at a lower cost than previously expected.

Medical cannabis is an emerging industry that offers new research opportunities, economic benefits and potential treatment options for patients. Since the launch of the Danish medical cannabis pilot program on 1 January 2018, the Danish ecosystem has attracted significant international investment, partnerships and attention from researchers.

"This acquisition was a logical, strategic step for Little Green Pharma. We had a need for increased manufacturing and production capability. And this world class facility delivers it for us immediately, on a cost-effective basis right in the market where we want to be. This transaction allows Little Green Pharma to meet the growing demand in Europe two years ahead of time on a cost effective basis."
Fleta Solomon

CEO Little Green Pharma

With this investment, Little Green Pharma maintains more than 60 existing jobs and ongoing operations at one of Europe’s largest and most advanced EU-GMP certified medical cannabis facilities including 21,500 m2 cultivation site and 4,000 m2 post-harvest GMP manufacturing site as a hub for its European operations.

“The sale of our facility to a company like Little Green Pharma is an acknowledgement of the hard work, specialization and dedication during the last 3½ years. But we can do better and it is our goal and vision to increase quality and efficiency even more for the benefits of patients globally. With our joint knowhow and commitment we can make a serious global footprint to this new industry.”
Morten Snede

Managing Director Little Green Pharma Denmark

Morten Snede, Managing Director Little Green Pharma Denmark, Little Green Pharma

The investment also reinforces Odense as a center of excellence for the production of medical cannabis, where existing expertise in advanced horticulture and robotics automation combined with greenhouse infrastructure and renewable energy availability to offer an attractive base for cultivation.

“It is a really good day for Odense and for Funen. First and foremost because 65 jobs are being maintained, but also because this is another example of our strong European position in the field of medical cannabis. We have a concentration of producers from Denmark, Germany, Canada and now Australia, an ecosystem of ambitious companies working together and we have been awarded funds from the Danish Business Promotion Board to further develop the industry. What we are seeing is a huge momentum in a completely new industry with significant growth potential.”
Peter Rahbæk Juel

Mayor of Odense

Peter Rahbaek Juel, Mayor of Odense, Little Green Pharma

Denmark offers a strong base for the production of medical cannabis. Embedded in a leading Life Sciences industry, the Danish medical cannabis industry offers a number of strategic advantages to companies that establish operations in Denmark.

There are no caps on the volume of medical cannabis that can be produced or exported, and distribution is managed through a free-market model within tightly regulated pharmaceutical standards.

This framework sits on top of underlying business conditions that have attracted investment across a range of sectors across the Life Sciences including abundant low cost sustainable power supply, rapid adoption of automation, deep pools of expertise in advanced horticulture and large-scale production, collaboration networks across the public and private sector and availability of pharmaceutical expertise.

Denmark is emerging as the leading centre for medical cannabis in Europe that complements its position as a true Life Sciences nation.

“Denmark is a Life Sciences nation with a long tradition of building world-class pharmaceutical and biotech companies that combine good fundamental research, highly skilled labour and a commitment to patients. At the same time, Denmark has long been known for advanced horticulture production based on plant breeding research and rapid adoption of automation. It has been exciting to watch this new industry tap into the existing ecosystem and really start to thrive.”
Steen Hommel

State Secretary for Trade and Global Sustainability, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

State Secretary for Trade and Global Sustainability, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Building the base on EU-GMP production, the Danish ecosystem has evolved rapidly to include extraction, testing and analysis, formulation development and applied research studies on medical cannabis in each university hospital in the country.

As the industry matures, the need for innovation will form a key pillar in sustaining a competitive advantage. Denmark’s position as a Life Sciences nation will play a role in advancing the medical cannabis industry with deep knowledge of pharmaceutical production knowledge.

This is an outstanding facility with a top quality team. Part of the attraction was the team that came with the asset. The ability to share our knowledge across the two facilities is really significant and we cannot wait to start the integration process.”

“We have found our experiences in Denmark to date to be extremely positive and are excited to be working with the Danish Life Sciences industry, which are leaders globally in this sector.

Fleta Solomon

CEO, Little Green Pharma