(Bloomberg) -- Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, which counts tobacco giant Imperial Brands Plc and rapper Snoop Dogg among its investors, is set to start trading Friday on the London Stock Exchange.

The company, which develops cannabinoid-based prescription medicines, has raised 16.5 million pounds ($23 million) from wealthy individuals and institutional investors in a placing, giving it a market value of about 51.5 million pounds, Chairman Neil Mahapatra said in an interview.

Oxford Cannabinoid, known as OCT, is hoping to replicate the success of GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, a British company that made the first drug wholly derived from the cannabis plant to win U.S. FDA approval. It was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc for $7.2 billion this year.

Being a pharmaceutical company, OCT could have listed before the U.K. market regulator gave the green light for medical pot listings on the LSE in September, but the approval eased its path to market, Mahapatra said. A number of medical marijuana companies have listed in the U.K. this year like consumer-products firm Cellular Goods Plc, which also has a celebrity backer in soccer star David Beckham.

OCT’s listing is being arranged by States Bridge Capital, which was set up by a group of City bankers including David Hitchcock, who used to be chairman of Grant Thornton’s U.K. banking and securities group, and Jamie Moyes, who helped set up investment bank Liberum Capital.

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