Medical cannabis giant swoops for Beeston manufacturer

A Nottinghamshire manufacturer of bespoke medicines has been acquired by leading medical cannabis producer Avida Global.

BCM Specials is based in the D10 Building off Thane Road in Beeston, where it manufactures unlicensed medicines for UK and European markets.

A new company created by the acquisition, Avida Medical, will temporarily remain at the site before relocating to new premises in Nottingham next year. It will manufacture and distribute medicinal cannabis products across the UK.

The deal makes Avida Global the only full-service UK cannabis business licensed to operate in the heavily regulated medical, wellness and cosmetics space.

The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.

Avida Medical will be led by Paul Parkinson, chief operations officer, MD and head of UK operations at Avida Global. Neil Bashforth, general manager at BCM Specials, will assume the role of managing director of the new company.

BCM’s 50-strong team will transfer across to the new business.

David Kirby, CEO at Avida Global, said: “This transformative acquisition is incredibly exciting and gives us extraordinary potential as a business, giving us immediate access to the UK medical cannabis market, home to one of the largest patient populations using cannabis in Europe.

“Our primary driver has always been to bring quality to life and we are committed to supplying the highest quality products, working with partners to create new innovative cannabis-based medicines and helping to improve patient access.”

Earlier this month, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published new guidance setting out the authorisations required to manufacture unlicensed cannabis-based medicines in the UK.