Ananda Developments Plc Shareholder Update and Issue of Equity

 
TIDMANA 
 
13 April 2023 
 
                            ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC 
 
                          ("Ananda" or the "Company") 
 
           Shareholder Update, Issue of Equity and Grant of Options 
 
Ananda's ambition is to be a leading provider of high-quality medical cannabis 
for the treatment of complex, chronic inflammatory pain conditions. 
 
Highlights 
 
.              Preparation is well underway at DJT Plants Limited ("DJT") for 
the construction of a medical cannabis flower processing facility (GMP1) 
 
.              MRX1, the  first cannabidiol medical cannabis oil from MRX 
Medical Limited ("MRX"), will be launched commercially in June 2023, with two 
medical cannabis clinics agreeing in principle to prescribe it 
 
.              Genetic stabilisation has successfully completed its first 
generation and the process is expected to speed up significantly across the 
following generations 
 
.              MRX1 cannabidiol medical cannabis oil has been put on stability 
trials ahead of being used in two Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) 
 
Ananda's CEO, Melissa Sturgess, commented: "We have always maintained that 
building our business carefully will reap dividends. It is no coincidence that 
we are now in a position to launch medical cannabis oils and getting close to 
constructing our medical cannabis flower processing facility, at the same time 
as Prohibition Partners, one of the leading industry commentators, predicts 
that the UK will become the second largest medical cannabis market in Europe 
this year." 
 
Commercial 
 
DJT medical cannabis flower, cultivation, and processing 
 
During the next six-months, DJT's commercial objectives are to put out to 
tender the construction of GMP1 and engage with the chosen pharmaceutical 
construction company, finalise the capital costs for this work, and write the 
standard operating procedures for commercial cultivation. 
 
Whilst it is not yet possible to predict the exact timing for DJT to achieve 
the requisite commercial cultivation and manufacturing approvals, the following 
stages were identified by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products 
Regulatory Agency) in late 2022: 
 
1. Applying to the MHRA for the appropriate licence(s): for DJT this requires 
completion of construction of the processing facility as above. 
 
2. MHRA carries out a remote desktop inspection. 
 
3. Applying to the Home Office for relevant licence(s): for DJT this will mean 
applying for its current licence to be expanded to permit commercial 
activities. 
 
4. The completion of relevant outstanding validation activities: DJT expects 
this step to be expedited as it has had the benefit of a full season of 
cultivation and harvesting trials, as well as the benefit of testing and 
validation work. 
 
To progress through the above stages, DJT will grow three cultivars in 2023 in 
its polytunnels. These cultivars have been chosen from the 2022 trial cultivars 
for their robust growth characteristics, healthy flowering and preferred 
cannabinoid and terpene profiles. The first clones have been taken from the 
mother plants of the chosen cultivars and they will be planted into the tunnels 
shortly. DJT will grow from clones for the 2023 season and will move to 
seed-based production at the conclusion of the genetic stabilisation programme. 
 
The cultivars will be grown and harvested according to Good Agricultural 
Collection Practice (GACP). This is a necessary step for MHRA approval as 
outlined above. For security and intellectual property protection reasons, it 
is not possible to release further details of the cultivars. 
 
During the winter, the team used DJT's indoor lab space to work on a range of 
additional plant manipulation strategies designed to increase yield. They also 
worked on detailed irrigation practices to promote cannabinoid content 
production in the weeks leading up to harvest. This involves varying the amount 
of water given to the plant to stress the plant in a predictable manner. 
Appropriate plant stress, timed precisely in the period before harvesting, can 
increase cannabinoid production. The captured data will be used to optimise 
cultivation protocols. 
 
 MRX medical cannabis oils 
 
Ananda's recently acquired wholly owned subsidiary, MRX, has two medical 
cannabis oil formulations ready for launch. MRX1 and MRX2 are proprietary 
cannabidiol based broad spectrum formulations which will be prescribed as 
unlicenced CBPM's (Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use in humans). 
 
MRX has reached agreement in principle with two UK based medical cannabis 
clinics to add MRX1 to their formularies to enable them to commence 
prescribing. Commercial launch of MRX1 is therefore expected in June 2023. The 
MRX website will be launched before this date. 
 
Research 
 
MRX1 Clinical Trials 
 
MRX1 is being used in two placebo-controlled Phase II RCT's. These are being 
conducted by clinician researchers at the University of Edinburgh and have 
received combined commitments of £1.55m of non-dilutive funding. Currently, the 
MRX1 formulation is being prepared for stability trials required under the MHRA 
investigative medicine guidelines, ahead of final documents being signed and 
trial recruitment commencing. 
 
NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has specifically 
called for research into the effectiveness of cannabidiol with no or trace 
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Ananda is actively pursuing further clinical trial 
opportunities for MRX1 as the Directors believe that positive clinical trial 
evidence could allow MRX1 to be prescribed on the NHS. 
 
DJT Genetic Stabilisation 
 
Several new cannabis genetics have been added to the genetic stabilisation 
programme. They include cultivars which have been specifically chosen to 
increase the genetic diversity of the programme and, via the analysis of global 
cannabis cultivar sales data, to increase the desirability of the resultant DJT 
owned genetic seed lines. The new strains have replaced a few of the poorer 
performing cultivars. 
 
On site last week, there was successful germination of the in-house developed 
second-generation (S2) seeds. This is a breakthrough for the DJT genetic 
stabilisation programme and is believed to be the first time that a 'selfed' 
(when the plant breeds with itself) cannabis seed has been successfully 
germinated and represents a significant step towards the Company's goal of 
generating a grown-from-seed, >98% genetically identical cannabis crop at 
scale. The learnings gained during this process will significantly accelerate 
progress to the sixth generation seeds. The originally proposed growing 
protocols have been adapted and refined to achieve male anthers (pollen 
producing part of the flower) in larger number and more rapidly, therefore 
allowing for a faster progression from generation to generation. 
 
A video showing the first shoots from the S2 seeds will be uploaded to the 
Company's social media accounts following release of this announcement. These 
accounts are: 
 
.              Instagram: https://instagram.com/anandadevelopments?igshid= 
YmMyMTA2M2Y= 
 
.              LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anadevelopments/ 
 
.              Twitter: https://twitter.com/anandaplc?s=21&t= 
9yeIC_xYCfzgDn7j26sfuA 
 
Issue of Shares 
 
In lieu of a one-off consulting fee, Victor Booty is being allotted 2,222,222 
ordinary shares of 0.2p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares"; Fee Shares") at 
a deemed price of 0.9p per share. Mr. Booty originally introduced Ananda to the 
medical cannabis cultivation opportunity and initiated the negotiations which 
resulted in Ananda acquiring DJT. 
 
Grant of Options 
 
Further to shareholder approval of the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) 
Share Option Plan (the "EMI Plan") at the Company's AGM on 17 August 2022, the 
Company has granted options over 60,000,000 Ordinary Shares pursuant to the EMI 
Plan: 30,000,000 to Linda Sweetlove, Head of Quality at DJT, and 30,000,000 to 
Jack Morgan, Head of Group Communications and GMP1. These options will vest in 
3 equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of their grant, 
with exercise prices of 0.5p, 0.605p and 0.66p per share, respectively. The 
Company has also issued options over 10,000,000 Ordinary Shares to Frances 
Crewdson, a consultant, which will vest in two equal tranches on the first and 
second anniversary of their grant, with exercise prices of 0.5p and 0.605p per 
share, respectively. 
 
Application for Admission 
 
Application will be made for the Fee Shares to be admitted to trading on the 
AQSE Growth Market and admission is expected to become effective on 19 April 
2023. 
 
The Fee Shares will, on admission, rank pari passu in all respects with the 
Ordinary Shares in issue and will rank in full for all dividends and other 
distributions hereafter declared, paid, or made on the ordinary share capital 
of the Company. 
 
Total Voting Rights 
 
Following the issue of the Fee Shares, Ananda has 2,736,347,451 Ordinary Shares 
in issue, each share carrying the right to one vote. 
 
This figure of 2,736,347,451 Ordinary Shares may be used by shareholders in the 
Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if 
they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest 
in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules. 
 
                                    -Ends- 
 
The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this 
announcement. 
 
ANANDA DEVELOPMENTS PLC                                   +44 (0)7463 686 497 
                                                    ir@anandadevelopments.com 
Chief Executive Officer 
Melissa Sturgess 
 
Chief Operating Officer 
Jeremy Sturgess-Smith 
 
PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMTED                                 +44 (0)20 7469 0930 
 
Corporate Finance 
Mark Anwyl 
 
Corporate Broking 
Lucy Williams 
Duncan Vasey 
 
About Ananda Developments 
 
Ananda is an AQSE-listed medical cannabis company whose ambition is to be a

leading provider of high-quality medical cannabis for the treatment of complex, 
chronic inflammatory pain conditions 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. 
 
 
 
END

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 13, 2023 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)

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