GW Pharmaceuticals to cancel London listing, keep Nasdaq

The biopharmaceutical company said it will continue to be headquartered and domiciled in the UK and expand its UK operations.

The group currently has 420 employees in the UK and expects this number to keep growing as it prepares for global regulatory submissions and approvals of Epidiolex, its investigational product for the treatment of a number of rare childhood-onset epilepsy disorders, as well as advance its cannabinoid product pipeline.

Chief executive officer Justin Gover said: "Since listing on Nasdaq in 2013, GW has raised nearly $800m largely from US investors which has helped transform our business and its prospects. With the vast majority of shares now held and traded in the US in the form of ADRs, the time is right to reduce the complexity and expense of a dual listing.

"The proposed cancellation of the AIM listing has no impact on GW's UK presence, which has significantly increased in recent years. We remain firmly committed to bringing important products to the global market, products that are both researched and manufactured in the UK."

At 0826 BST, the shares were down 1% to 844.25p.