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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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GW Pharma's cannabis drug fails
Hemscott, Morningstar Tuesday 08 Apr 2008 Date: April 8 2008 --- GW Pharmaceuticals said the medicine had failed a Phase III pain relief trial among multiple sclerosis patients. The company added that Sativex had a very high patient response rate, but that the results narrowly failed to reach statistical significance because of an unexpectedly large response to a placebo treatment among the test group. "The previous trial yielded a highly significant reduction in pain and it is extremely disappointing that this couldn't be replicated," said Paul Cuddon, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt. "The company attribute this to a large response in the placebo group. While valid, this indicates that the effect of Sativex is marginal, and we retain our doubts as to whether the product will ever prove a commercial success in any of the indications. "We set a 50p price target, which is at the lower end of our DCF valuation range, and recognise that there is likely to be a financing gap by year end 2009," Cuddon told clients. Shares in GW Pharma tumbled 17.5%, down 12.5p to 59p, having fallen 8% late yesterday. The stock had added 15% in the six months before today, sharply outperforming its sector. Sativex, a mouth spray, is unique among medicines currently available because it is derived from the cannabis plant, rather than a synthetic cannabinoid compound. It was approved in Canada for prescription use in April 2005 as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis, and is available in the UK as an unlicensed medicine. GW anounced last February it had signed an exclusive agreement for Otsuka Pharmaceutical to develop and market Sativex in the United States. It has a similar agreement with Almirall to market Sativex in Continental Europe, while Bayer Healthcare has been appointed exclusive exclusive distributor in the UK and Canada. editorial@hemscott.co.uk http://www.hemscott.com/news/comment-archive/item.do?id=46828
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