Bayer HealthCare’s Sativex receives approval from Welsh regulator

Bayer HealthCare's Sativex will be made available via the NHS for the first time after it received approval from the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group.

The regulator has become the first in the UK to approve the cannabis-based oral spray as a means of treating patients suffering symptoms of muscle spasms and stiffness as a result of multiple sclerosis.

Developed by GW Pharma, the drug is intended for use by people who fail to benefit from other anti-spasticity drugs and who show a quick response to the therapy. It was launched in the UK in 2010, but has only been made available on an ad hoc basis up until now.

Dr Sajida Javaid, a consultant in rehabilitation medicine at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, said: "It is encouraging to see that patients in Wales will now have improved access to a treatment that has been proven to provide significant relief from the spasms and cramps associated with spasticity."

This comes after the firm received EU approval for its drug Eylea to be used as a treatment for diabetic macular oedema earlier this month.