BRITISH CANNABIS, a private CBD producer, is the current leader in the UK’s CBD sweepstakes. After 310 products were associated with the company were recently advanced and approved by regulators. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) released a list earlier this month.
The Berkshire-based firm received preliminary approval for 75 of its products alone, and the 235 submitted together with other companies. FSA preliminarily approved 3,536 items as new or novel foods according to the table, which was published on March 31
RX Pharmatech Ltd. from Bradford, West Yorkshire has 273 products approved by it. This is the second-highest number. RX Pharmatech submitted 116 product independently and 157 together with other producers.
According to the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry. (ACI), the UK market for CBD products was worth PS690million. ACI stated that CBD sales increased more than twice in the UK between 2019 and 2021 making it the second largest consumer market after the USA.
Companies remaining
In total, 374 companies had products approved by the FSA. There were a variety of applications: some companies filed their own applications; others filed as joint applicants with other producers. Others filed jointly and independently. These products were included in 70 cbd oil application submitted to FSA.
Although products that were included on the list may be allowed to continue selling, products that failed FSA scrutiny will not be permitted to remain on the market. FSA stressed that approvals are preliminary, some products may be removed during the later stages of their review.
The majority of these products were moved to pre-validation ("awaiting evidence") status, which is the second stage in the FSA's novel foods approval process. FSA has now approved 57 products from five companies.
Clearance is what you seek
FSA's novel foods approval process is designed to clarify a growing gray market, which has seen thousands of cannabidol products appear in retail outlets over recent years. The products must have been in circulation before February 13, 2020 to be eligible for agency consideration. All products that were introduced after this date are not eligible for consideration.
BRITISH CANNABIS products are believed to have been obtained through an ACI-organized consortium, according to the Association. ACI stated this week that it is still analysing FSA and would not release any information regarding the number of products or the numbers submitted for applications. ACI's members list at least 628 products, which includes British Cannabis, among those that advanced.
Applications of EIHA
RX Pharmatech was submitted products by a separate consortium to the European Industrial Hemp Association.
EIHA Projects GmbH included 193 companies in its submissions of products. This account for approximately 56% of all advanced products. The applications covered both full-spectrum extracts (835) and isolates (1,157).
A quick look at the top companies
Below are the top five companies, ranked by the number of products each company had approved by FSA.
British Cannabis
British Cannabis was established in 2015. It is an independent, vertically integrated producer and distributor of cannabis, CBD, and other cannabinoid-rich products.British Cannabis supplies white-label products to other brands and makes its own brand products. British Cannabis owns its own manufacturing facility, warehouse, dispatch and lab, it also maintains a Portuguese cannabis research farm. The company claims that it has shipped more than 50k bottles of CBD oils between its two largest white label clients. BRITISH CANNABIS announced in September 2021 it was planning to invest in a new facility. It will include an ISO-accredited cannabis analytics testing lab and a cosmetics line. It has the potential to triple its current capacity. It is one of 35 UK testing labs responsible for the "chemist trial" assessment that measures CBD and cannabinoid contents in commercial products.
Associated principals : Thomas Whettem CEO & Founder, David Ralston, Managing director
RX Pharmatech Ltd
RX Pharmatech Ltd. has very little information available, it apparently doesn't have a website. Other sources show that the company was established in May 2016. RX Pharmatech sells bulk isolates from and distillates that are produced by GVB Biopharma (Las Vegas, Nevada), USA. RX Pharmatech is a party to the FSA's second-highest product list. RX Pharmatech has been a party of the second highest number of products on FSA. GVB stated it sources raw material from a U.S. farmers' cooperative. GVB's website states that the company has a UK branch in Doncaster (Yorkshire, England). GVB is home to Decathlon Capital Partners, which is a growth equity company based in Park City. GVB claims to also have operations in Europe (location unknown) and Bogota in Colombia. GVB Biopharma partnered with Medicaleaf Ltd. (Cheltenham & Gloucestershire) and Isomist Ltd. GVB Biopharma has been reported to have in a strategic partnership with Sonder Fulfillment. Sonder Fulfillment a division Golden Triangle Ventures, a Las Vegas-based pennystock company.
Principals associated with RX Pharmatech Ltd. Dominic James Bartle is the director and Damien Jonathan Bove is the director. GVB Biopharma Phillip Swindells is the CEO and co-founder. Jack Feldman is president & Co-founder. Hugh Kinsman is CFO.
Mile High Labs
Mile High Labs in Broomfield, Colorado is a supplier for CBD, CBN and CBG. Mile High reported in 2019 that it had raised $100 million total in funding via two rounds. Mile High has an extraction plant that uses raw materials from contracted CBD hemp growers in America. According to its website, the company also has a Belfast, Northern Ireland office.
Associated principals Jonathan Hilley CEO, Ryan Keeler COO, Jodi Gatica VP Quality, Danny Moses, Investor.
Taylor Mammon Ltd
Taylor Mammon Ltd. is a white-label distributor and manufacturer of CBD. It is based in Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire). The company is owned by Kentucky-based parent GenCanna. Also known as OGGUSA Inc., GenCanna was famously bankrupted in 2020. There were a lot of creditors who claimed the company owed them between $100 to 500 million. MGG Investment Group is a private direct lender, and one of GenCanna’s creditors. GenCanna acquired Taylor Mammon and UK's CBD Capital last year.
Associated principals : Taylor Mammon - Alex Taylor, cofounder; James Taylor chief commercial officer; Nathan Wogman cofounder and managing director. GenCanna/OGGUSA Inc. - Andrew Barnett, CEO; Hassan Akhtar, managing director, Europe.
Sativa Wellness Group
Although now called Goodbody Health Inc, it submitted its novel foods applications as Sativa Wellness. This Canada-based company makes OTC traded CBD products These include oils, capsules, gummies and cosmetics. There are also laboratories in the UK and Poland for testing CBD products.Goodbody/Sativa Wellness is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2020, when public financial records are available, the company posted a loss in excess of $6.5million (PS5 million). Goodbody shares trade at $0.05 (5c) currently. Goodbody's UK affiliate, PhytoVista Laboratories received a controlled drugs license last month (April 2022).
Associated principals (Goodbody Health Inc.): Geremy Tom, Founder & Executive Chair; Marc Howells CEO; Anne Tew CFO and Corporate Secretary.