A multi-national medical supply company is expanding into Scotland with a cannabis manufacturing facility in the Borders. Breathe Life Sciences (BLS) will create 36 jobs when the production and distribution centre opens towards the end of next year - with a three year plan for the workforce to increase to around 100.
The Sydney-based firm already has licensed overseas manufacturing sites in Manchester, Prague, and the Japanese city of Nagoya. CEO Sam Watson said: "This is a fast-growing industry and coming to Scotland is part of our plans for meeting demand."
Since medicinal cannabis was legalised by the UK government in 2018, the market has grown to a current annual value of around £250m. The number of active patients is expected to increase, according to industry research, from 80,000 just now to more than 190,000 by the end of the decade.
It is both the growing market and two locally based directors - Gavin and Andrew Ogilvie from Melrose - that convinced BLS to open a new factory in the central Scottish Borders. Mr Watson said: "In the whole of the European market, the UK is the quickest growing area. There are very few manufacturers of these products in the UK - most are imported - so we will be building a Scottish pharmaceutical manufacturing infrastructure to satisfy that market.
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