UK: Cannabis drug treats nerve pain: GW Pharma

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Reuters

The Times of India

Tuesday 15 Jun 2004

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LONDON : GW Pharmaceuticals Plc's pioneering cannabis-based medicine has
shown positive, preliminary results in a final-stage clinical trial to
treat nerve pain, the British biotechnology firm said on Tuesday.

The firm said Sativex, developed initially as a treatment for pain in
multiple sclerosis sufferers, achieved a statistically significant
improvement in pain levels compared with placebo in a study of people
suffering "neuropathic" pain caused by damaged or dysfunctional nerves.

GW, which grows over 40,000 marijuana plants a year at a secret location in
the English countryside, said it was too early to estimate the size of the
market for a neuropathic pain drug, but that at least one per cent of the
world's population --including over 600,000 patients in Britain -- suffered
from it.

"Neuropathic pain is one of the most difficult types of chronic pain to
treat and available treatment options are limited," Executive Chairman
Geoffrey Guy said in a statement.

Neuropathic pain is also linked to strokes, cancer, spinal cord injury and
diabetes.

Sativex, which is sprayed into the mouth rather than smoked, is currently
being assessed by regulators in the UK and Canada as a treatment for pain
in multiple sclerosis patients, although the process in Britain at least
has taken longer than GW initially expected.

The firm also plans to test the drug with sufferers of other conditions
such as irritable bowel syndrome.

Last week GW, which plans to market Sativex in partnership with Germany 's
Bayer , said Sativex could also reduce arthritis pain.

In morning trade, GW's stock was up 0.8 per cent.

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