6 February 2023
ANANDA
DEVELOPMENTS PLC
(“Ananda” or the “Company”)
Shareholder
Update
HIGHLIGHTS
- Test results from 2022 harvested cultivars demonstrate
successful growth of diverse strains
- Pre-qualification letters sent to prospective tenderers for
manufacturing facility construction
- Company believes that genetic breeding programme has commercial
potential
Ananda’s ambition is to be a leading UK grower and provider of
consistent, high-quality medical cannabis for the UK, and later
international, markets.
Ananda’s wholly owned subsidiary, DJT Plants Limited (“DJT”),
holds a licence from the Home Office to cultivate >0.2% THC
medical cannabis for research at its site in Lincolnshire. Its
current operations are focused on strain stabilisation, field
trials and planning for its commercial medical cannabis processing
facility. These initiatives are in preparation for its intended
applications to the Home Office to grow medical cannabis for
commercial purposes and to the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency) for the required GMP (Good
Manufacturing Practice) certification.
The Directors provide the following update on the Company’s
activities.
Testing of 2022 harvested cultivars
In late 2022, five of the cultivars grown in DJT’s field trials
were sent for detailed testing. The results confirm that DJT has
successfully grown high THC, balanced THC/CBD, and high CBD
cultivars. Detailed analysis of average cannabinoid profiles across
a number of plants was conducted, as well as specific
analysis of individual plants selected for their superior
agronomic qualities. This showed variance between different
plants of the same cultivars, which is to be expected and provides
support for the Company’s decision to undertake the genetic
stabilisation programme. It was interesting to note the tradeoff
between flower mass yield and cannabinoid yield. The terpene
profiles indicate a predominance of myrcene, beta caryophyllene,
limonene and alpha pinene. These are the key terpenes in medical
cannabis cultivars and so results were as expected.
Next steps are to choose a selection of the tested cultivars for
the 2023 field season which will focus on cultivation to GACP (Good
Agricultural Collection Practice) standards as part of the
progression to commercial growing. Harvested flower is an
ingredient for a cannabis medicine and so must be cultivated and
harvested as such.
DJT requires an amendment to its Home Office Licence and MHRA
licensing to proceed to commercial cultivation and intends to make
relevant applications to those authorities at the appropriate
time.
GMP1 facility
Subject to receipt of the necessary approvals, grown and
harvested flower will be moved to a pharmaceutical grade processing
and manufacturing facility on site. It has been decided to
construct the facility under a Design & Build contract.
Pre-qualification letters have been sent to 6 shortlisted companies
for them to present their pharmaceutical construction
credentials.
Strain Stabilisation
The Company now believes it has developed a set of protocols to
successfully self-pollinate cannabis and produce enough viable
seeds to grow the next generation of plants, each generation of
which will be more genetically homogenous than the previous
one. The Directors consider this to be a significant
achievement with the commercial potential to claim IP (intellectual
property) and sell stable genetics in seed form. The genetic
breeding programme will continue, with the objective of achieving
plants with over 98% genetic similarity by the sixth
generation.
The only other known way to achieve this level of genetic
stability is to clone plants, which has its own challenges
including:
1. Mother plants’ health reduces over time
2. There are genetic changes when repeated cloning is conducted
over an extended period
3. There is a cost of energy, space, and personnel to maintain
mothers and conduct cloning
The advantages of seeds are that they can be easily and
inexpensively stored and require no manipulation or attendant
activities whilst not being used. They also do not suffer from
genetic drift, and so are highly suitable as starting material to
grow medical cannabis flower as an active pharmaceutical
ingredient.
Ananda’s CEO, Melissa Sturgess
commented: “We proceed with confidence. I am delighted we have
assembled a best-in-class team which is committed to our
objectives. In the cannabis industry we often see people move
quickly between jobs and I have wanted to avoid this. All
businesses need organisational stability to succeed, so our team
remains our key asset. More widely we maintain a close watch on
medical cannabis demand and the progress of research into cannabis
as a useful medicine. We believe that everything is heading in the
right direction and that we are perfectly positioned. Our
plan is ‘prove and scale’ thereby reducing risk, reducing the
chance of misallocated capital and getting the best returns for
shareholders.”
-Ends-
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the
contents of this announcement.
ANANDA
DEVELOPMENTS PLC
Chief Executive Officer
Melissa Sturgess
Investor Relations
Jeremy Sturgess-Smith |
+44
(0)7463 686 497
ir@anandadevelopments.com |
PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMTED
Corporate Finance
Mark Anwyl
Corporate Broking
Lucy Williams
Duncan Vasey |
+44
(0)20 7469 0930 |
About Ananda Developments
Ananda is an AQSE-listed medical cannabis company creating
UK-based operations to grow and provide carbon zero, consistent,
medical cannabis for the UK and international markets.
For more information, please visit:
https://anandadevelopments.com.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information. Upon the publication
of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this
inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain.