MPX International announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary MPX Australia has been granted a Cannabis Manufacture Licence by the Australian Office of Drug Control (ODC).
MPX Australia is currently building a new facility in Launceston, which is intended to be in production by mid-2020. MPX International’s Chairman, President and CEO, W. Scott Boyes, said the licence would enable the company to scale-to-market indoor cultivation, extraction and manufacture of medical cannabis products under closely controlled conditions.
“We chose Australia, and specifically the island state of Tasmania, because of its reputation for producing high quality organic products using clean energy, the availability of qualified technical staff, and the positive support from local government,” Mr Boyes explained.
“The Australian market is highly regulated, so achieving this milestone confirms our position as an international leader; MPX International is now licensed in, or operating on four continents with the ability to import and export cannabis products from each of our licensed locations potentially leading to diverse and sustainable revenue streams around the world.”
Tibor Vertes, Executive Director of MPX Australia, said initial construction costs for the facility are expected to be approximately $3 to $4 million, with additional build out and equipment costs to be an additional $3-4 million, phased in over two to three years.
“MPX Australia will focus on producing high quality products for the domestic market, and potentially future export to Oceania and the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr Vertes noted.
“According to the Australian Government Department of Health’s latest data, the number of patients in Australia is growing steadily, with almost 3,000 new patients prescribed medicinal cannabis in the month of September 2019 compared to only 330 new patients per month in October 2018. We expect this growth to continue to accelerate.”
