CMS advises on £97m AIM-IPO of Celadon Pharmaceuticals

CMS has advised Vertigrow Technology Limited on reverse acquisition of Summerway Capital plc and on its admission to trading on AIM as Celadon Pharmaceuticals Plc (Celadon), alongside an accompanying £8.5m equity fundraise. Celadon had a market capitalisation of £97.4m on admission.

Celadon, is a UK based pharmaceutical company specialising in the researching, growing and supply of medicinal cannabis. Celadon is one of the first pharmaceutical companies in the UK to receive a Home Office licence, following approval from the MHRA to apply for the licence, to grow high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis, for the purpose of producing test batches of cannabis oil to support its application to the MHRA for registration as a manufacturer of medicinal product APIs. Celadon’s goal is to become the provider and partner of choice for pharmaceutical cannabinoid-based medicines in the highly regulated UK market and is initially focusing on the chronic pain market. Celadon has a 100,000 square foot facility located in the Midlands, UK, that comprises a laboratory designed to meet UK-GMP standards, with capacity for a large indoor hydroponic growing facility in accordance with GACP guidelines.

The CMS team advised Celadon on its reverse acquisition into Summerway Capital as well as its acquisition of a controlling interest in a prospective cannabis pain clinic business Harley Street (CPC), operating as LVL Health, and a minority interest in Kingdom Therapeutics, an early-stage pharmaceutical company focussing on the promising field of the endocannabinoid system for those with neurological disorders.

The CMS team was led by Head of Equity Capital Markets, corporate partner Alasdair Steele, and included corporate partner Tom Jameson, senior associate Farrah Kiyani and associate Hannah Brash, Lifesciences partner Shuna Mason and associate Bonnie Clemence, Head of Corporate Crime partner Omar Qureshi and senior associate Amy Wilkinson, Real Estate partner Clare Thomas and Planning partner Chris Bowes.