An Australian company is expected to hire up to 100 skilled workers to manufacture medicinal cannabis at a mystery location in the Scottish Borders.
Bioxyne is the parent company of the Breathe Life Sciences Group which last month announced that South of Scotland Enterprise was providing a five-year £500,000 loan facility and a grant award of £348,250 to support the project. It has also received assistance from Scottish Borders Council.
BLS has strong ties to the Scottish Borders, with directors Gavin and Andrew Ogilvie hailing from Melrose.
It is quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Borse and manufactures over 200 brands and 2.5 million products per year.
Today it said it will hire an initial 36 workers and because of substantial growth in the market, it hopes to increase its payroll to 100 in three years.
The base will manufacture patient-ready cannabis medicines for both domestic and international markets, with global demand anticipated to also grow in coming years. For security reasons, the exact location of the new facility is not being announced.
The number of active cannabis patients in the UK has grown to 80,000, purchasing approximately £250m worth of cannabis-based medicinal products in 2025 and the number of active patients is expected to surpass 190,000 by 2029.
Medicinal cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018 to allow specialist doctors to initiate prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines when they agree that their patients could benefit from this treatment.
Cannabis-based medicinal products are prescribed in circumstances where patients are not responding to commonly prescribed medications to treat conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, inflammation and PTSD.
Sam Watson, CEO and founder of Breathe Life Sciences said: “Our Scottish Borders manufacturing and distribution facility is being developed to meet the growing national demand for UK-manufactured cannabis-based medicinal products.
“Public sentiment was at the forefront of the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, which is rigorously tested, quality-assured, more affordable, and of course fully legal.
“We are honoured and inspired by the support received from SOSE and Scottish Borders Council and are proud to be investing in a region that values innovation and economic growth.”
Russel Griggs, chair of SOSE, said: “With a surge in the number of life sciences companies wanting to come to our region, the South is quickly positioning itself as a hub for innovation and growth in the emerging medicinal cannabis industry.
“BLS will bring further investment and skilled jobs, and is the latest company to recognise that the South of Scotland is a fantastic place to do innovative business.”
Councillor Scott Hamilton of Scottish Borders Council said the investment was “a perfect example of how, through working with local members and our regional partners, we are able to attract businesses and new jobs to the area.”
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