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An old slaughterhouse from the 1990s, where kilos of cannabis will be harvested in the future.
The production facility of the Berlin start-up Demecan is being built around 20 kilometers from the gates of Dresden.
The young company is one of three providers that won an application process from the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) two years ago and is legally allowed to grow medical cannabis.
At that time it was still said that Demecan wanted to harvest the first flowers at the end of 2020.
But the start-up is still a long way from that.
"We are currently in the phase between the construction and the technical equipment and hope that we will be finished at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth quarter," said co-founder Constantin von der Groeben in an interview with "Gründerszene".
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The lawyer founded Demecan in 2017 with doctor Adrian Fischer and economist Cornelius Maurer.
The offshoots of the Canadian hemp giants Aurora and Aphria have not yet released any products.
Demecan: Guaranteed sales of more than one million euros
The conversion of the Saxon plant is taking, also because the corona pandemic is slowing down the construction project.
The outer walls have to be renovated, new security systems installed, rooms rearranged and air conditioning installed, according to von der Groeben.
When the production facility is finished, it resembles a laboratory.
Every area is hermetically sealed and access is controlled.
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The cannabis plants would be placed on tables and would grow in nutrient media such as rock wool, since purchased soil could contain bacteria.
The supply of light and the day-night cycle are regulated, as are the temperature and the oxygen content.
The co-founder does not want to say when Demecan will harvest the first flowers.
But it takes less than six months after cultivation.
The start-up has permission from the BfArM to harvest 600 kilograms a year.
According to a calculation by the “Pharmazeutische Zeitung”, this should bring the Berliners 1.3 million euros per year.
“I can't say anything about that”, von der Groeben only says to “Gründerszene”.
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The gram price of the report, however, refers to the average price that Aurora, Aphria and Demecan stated in the lottery.
“And that is below what we have offered.
We did not prevail in the award procedure because of the low price, but because of the quality. "
Krombacher boss and ex-Springer CFO involved at Demecan
Demecan currently earns money selling white label products.
On the one hand, there is the Dutch drug Bedrocan, which is sold by numerous dealers in Germany.
The start-up has also been selling flowers from an Australian manufacturer since March.
"We could expand production and rely on more quantities being put out to tender," said the lawyer.
"The turnover from cultivation for the BfArM is limited, but it is guaranteed." The aim is to someday bring an approved pharmaceutical cannabis product from its own harvest onto the market.
In mid-April, Demecan secured another multi-million dollar loan for this project.
In autumn 2019 there were already seven million euros, last spring there were again several million euros.
Now a seven-figure financing followed.
The semi-state Hessian Futury Fund, which is managed by Eventures, and an investment vehicle from Steffen Naumann, former CFO of Axel Springer and Bertelsmann, have recently joined the company.
A private investor network from Btov Partners, an investment company owned by Bernhard Schadeberg, boss of the Krombacher brewery, Paul Kraut, former managing director of the Swabian toy manufacturer Schleich, real estate mogul Andreas Bremke and serial entrepreneur Jörg Sellmann took part.