GW Pharmaceutical’s cannabis based spray receives UK approval

GW Pharmaceutical’s cannabis based spray treatment for pain relief is to be licensed in the UK, the home office has announced. GW Pharmaceutical shares leapt 18.5p to 83p on the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market at the news, leaving the company valued at just under ?80 million.

The company’s Sativex treatment, until now only available in Canada, has been shown to be highly effective in reducing pain in the central nervous systems of those suffering MS. Around 85,000 people in the UK suffer from the condition, and many have taken to self medication using illegal cannabis for pain relief.

Cannabis remains a class C controlled substance, with possession an arrestable offence. GW Pharmaceutical has previously been granted a licence to grow the drug legally for research and development purposes. Sativex will now become the only cannabis based treatment legally available in the UK.

It will now be imported from Canada and the home office will allow it to be sold under a special licensing arrangement, due to its controversial source material. The drug should be made available immediately to patients once GPs have completed the necessary paperwork.

“GW expects to discuss the implementation practicalities with the Home Office over the coming weeks. GW, which is still carrying out final stage trials for Sativex, said it would pursue its application for a full UK licence for the drug,” a company spokesman told the Times.

Steve Barker, a spokesman for the Campaign to Legalise Cannabis, welcomed the announcement. “It’s great news… I think this will be a relief for the huge number of MS sufferers and thousands of sufferers of chronic pain. Presumably it’s a toe in the water as far as the Government is concerned. They’ll want to see how it goes.”

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