Private equity fund Iberis Capital has invested €2 million into German medicinal cannabis group Eurox, which is building a plant near Grândola in Setúbal.

"This investment is part of a round of capital raising amounting to €4.4 million, which Eurox Group will then invest into a new Research & Development (R&D) unit to be developed in its subsidiary Canneurox Portugal," the company told Lusa news agency in a statement.

Following this funding, Eurox Group will "base important fields of their research in Portugal, such as research in plant genetics, product extraction processes and molecular and biological applications," the statement said.

"This will be the new Eurox Group R&D 'hub' in Europe and is expected to create a platform for the company to become the European leader in the market for medicinal cannabis”.

A source from Iberis Capital told Lusa that the Eurox Group medicinal cannabis unit in the municipality of Grândola has been "under construction since June 2021", with the investment now being used to "finance the cutting-edge R&D that is being carried out".

Construction of the new facility should be "completed by early October". Eurox Group expects to create between 15 and 20 new direct jobs in Portugal at first.

"We are very pleased to support Eurox Group in developing the R&D capacity at its Portuguese operation. This includes important new areas for the development of knowledge in this area," said Luís Quaresma of Iberis Capital, cited in the statement.

Bernhard Babel, the CEO and co-founder of Eurox Group, welcomed the new relationship with Iberis Capital, saying: "Eurox will continue to focus on key projects, such as its Portuguese subsidiary, and will continue to expand its commercial business throughout their Europe programme".