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Pharmaceutical experts Woodley BioReg joins specialist medical cannabis facilities partnership CROP17

CROP17 – a partnership of leading businesses which together provides a turnkey solution for planning, building and operating medical cannabis facilities within the UK’s regulatory framework – has today announced pharmaceutical specialist Woodley BioReg as its latest member.

It joins Cambridge HOK – in our role as horticultural engineering and construction of automated indoor growing facilities - global real estate services provider, Savills, specialist security service provider Subrosa Group, and commercial cannabis sector experts Hanway Associates, in the partnership.

The CROP17 partnership brings together experienced organisations with a proven track record of delivering cannabis, agricultural, pharmaceutical and property sector consultancy, with construction and licensing expertise.

The group delivers incisive and cost-effective services to ensure that a clients’ cannabis cultivation project is compliant, feasible and profitable.

As a partner, Woodley BioReg will provide pharmaceutical regulatory affairs and quality assurance support for its cannabis clients, including process design and validation, QMS and MHRA licensing.

‘Incisive, cost-effective services to ensure compliant, feasible and profitable cannabis cultivation’

Growing cannabis legally in the UK is a complex undertaking, with extensive barriers to entry guarding attractive opportunities in the medical cannabis sector.

CROP17 greatly reduces the risks involved in developing a commercial cultivation operation, by providing skills and expertise throughout the process, from ideation to operations.

The European medical cannabis market is set to be worth more than €350m in 2022 and to exceed €1.4bn by 2025. Prescriptions in the UK medical cannabis market increased by nearly 900% over the course of 2021, and the market is projected to exceed half a billion euros by 2026.

UK medical cannabis has begun to attract mainstream attention from investors in sectors such as food security, infrastructure and agriculture.

This year, JLEN Environmental Assets Group, the FTSE250 listed environmental infrastructure fund, invested £26.7m into a British greenhouse operator with a cannabis license.

‘CROP17 can be at the forefront of European cannabis expansion’ – Patrick Harte

Ash Ramzan, Principal Consultant at Woodley BioReg, said: “As the yew tree was for Taxol, the foxglove was for digitalis and the poppy has been for pain relief, the pharmaceutical industry is starting to recognise the potential wide range of medical uses of the cannabis plant.

“We’re excited to be working to help to develop cannabis medicinal treatments for currently under-served medical conditions. Already active in the quality and regulatory development of medicinal cannabis, joining the highly experienced colleagues at CROP17 will enable us to provide our current and future clients with a complete business solution.”

Patrick Harte, Joint Managing Director and Shareholder of CambridgeHOK, said: “We are delighted that we can continue to strengthen the knowledge base and technical knowledge within CROP17. Having now built and commissioned licensed facilities, we believe that CROP17 can be at the forefront of European cannabis expansion.”

Charlotte Bowyer, Head of Advisory at Hanway Associates, said: “The domestic UK medical cannabis market is on the cusp of real momentum. Over 1.7 million Brits are using black market cannabis for a medical condition, underscoring the immense scale of opportunity for safe, regulated and accessible medicinal cannabis in the UK.

“We’re delighted to welcome Woodley Bioreg’s expertise into CROP17 to help build capacity in this vital sector, and look forward to working closely with them to bring high-quality medical and pharmaceutical cannabis ventures to life.”

Alex Braggs, Director of Food and Farming at Savills, added: “Depth of knowledge and expertise is key to the success of any service provision to clients, particularly in a highly complex and regulated industry. Savills are delighted to continue to work alongside a growing team of advisors within this emerging sector.”

Niall Burns, Managing Director at Subrosa, said: “It is great to have Woodley Bio Reg join the CROP 17 conglomerate. Having worked with the Woodley BioReg team on a recent project it was evident that there is cross over between security risk policies and procedures with QMS and MHRA compliance.

“It is important to unify or cross reference these policies and procedures where required. This partnership is of great benefit to CROP 17 clients, making their operations secure, compliant, effective and efficient."

CROP17 partners are actively involved in multiple projects related to cannabis facility planning, construction, licensing and operation within the UK and Europe.

For more information and to discuss commercial opportunities with a member of the CROP17 team, please contact [email protected] or any of the partners directly.

 

ABOUT THE CROP17 PARTNERS

Savills
Savills is a global real estate services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange. Savills operates from over 600 owned and associate offices, employing more than 39,000 people in over 70 countries offering a broad range of specialist advisory, management and transactional services to clients all over the world. 

CambridgeHOK
CambridgeHOK is a forward-thinking, dynamic engineering, energy and construction company which specializes in the design and development of automated vertical farming centres and commercial glasshouses. Its team includes experienced structural engineers, mechanical cooling and ventilation engineers, computer control engineers, electrical engineers, project managers, designers, skilled installers and factory workers.

Subrosa Group
Subrosa Group is a Specialist Security company providing risk management, security consultancy and integrated security solutions to the UK and European Medical Cannabis Sector. Subrosa has successfully guided clients through the stringent UK Home Office licencing process, and offers consultancy, risk management, physical, technical and manned security through integrated service delivery as a cost-effective solution, from project inception to an operational facility and beyond.

Hanway Associates
Hanway Associates is a specialist advisory firm helping clients navigate the nascent cannabis industry. Hanway specializes in cannabis research, market entry and M&A strategy, corporate advisory, and strategic communications. Clients include Licensed Producers of cannabis, pharmaceutical and FMCG companies, investment funds and innovative startups.

Woodley BioReg
Woodley BioReg helps pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, healthcare, and medical device companies develop and manufacture quality products that are effective and safe for patients worldwide. Operating for over 20 years, and with offices around the world, WBR provides high quality scientific advice and consulting services in regulatory affairs, quality, clinical/nonclinical, and project management for all stages of product development. Woodley BioReg acts as the link between the global boards of health, regulatory agencies, and healthcare product manufacturers.

 

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