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UK: Cannabis-drug firm reaps losses of 6.7m pounds John Rutter Edinburgh Evening News Thursday 19 Jun 2003 GW Pharmaceuticals, Britains only licensed producer of cannabis for medical use, has announced a half-year net loss of £6.7 million, in line with expectations. But the company is confident its cannabis-based medicine Sativex, submitted to the UK regulatory authority at the end of March, will be licensed for sale and lead to GW becoming a "major UK pharmaceuticals business". GW recently secured a multi-million pound deal to market the pioneering treatment for multiple sclerosis with German healthcare giant Bayer. Under the terms of the deal the company received a £5 million signing fee and will gain milestone payments of £20m once the treatment is given regulatory approval and a share in the revenues from sales. The company also announced cash and short term deposits of £13.7m at the end of March, helped by the signing fee from Bayer. GW legally grows about 4000 cannabis plants a year and is hoping the Sativex mouth spray will be on the market by the end of this year. Executive chairman Dr Geoffrey Guy said: "The first six months of the year has seen us achieve a number of significant milestones, all in accordance with previously stated timescales. "In particular, we submitted the regulatory dossier for Sativex to the UK regulatory authority and also entered into an agreement with Bayer to market Sativex in the UK. "The Bayer agreement is our first commercial collaboration to date and provides a clear demonstration of confidence on the part of a world leading pharmaceutical company in our product development capability." The company believes the market opportunity for Sativex, which will first be used to target MS and neuropathic pain, is "substantial". It said there were around half a million MS sufferers in Europe and four million patients with neuropathic pain and that patient groups were not served adequately by current pain reduction therapies. It expects Sativex to be the worlds first cannabis-based medicine launched to help the afflictions and that it will "represent a significant advance in the management of these debilitating conditions". Results from random trails released last November showed users of the drug gained significant reductions in pain and improvements in other symptoms of MS including spasticity and sleep disturbance. If the regulatory authority gives its approval, GW hopes to be able to make Sativex available for prescription by doctors in the UK by the end of 2003. Bayer has been given the exclusive rights to market Sativex in the UK and also has an option, for a limited period of time, to negotiate the marketing rights in other countries in the European Union and selected countries around the world. Dr Guy added: "Our achievements over recent years provide a solid platform for growth. We are confident that we are on track to secure regulatory approvals, and launches for Sativex around the world. "We have considerable ambitions for the next phase in the groups development and believe we now have the elements in place to build a major UK pharmaceuticals business."
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