Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:


After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.

UK: Backing for cannabis medicine eludes GW Pharma

Rosie Murray-West

The Telegraph

Tuesday 22 Jun 2004

---
GW Pharmaceuticals, which is trying to make medicine from cannabis extract,
saw its shares rise 3 to 133.5p yesterday despite not being able to give a
date for the approval of its lead drug, which is aimed at treating multiple
sclerosis.

Sativex, the company's cannabis-based sub-lingual spray, is currently with
the UK regulators, and the talks have taken longer than originally expected.

Many investors had expected the drug to be launched last year. Geoffrey
Guy, the company's executive chairman, acknowledged that the company had
initially been over optimistic.

He said that the drug had been with the regulator since last March, and it
has not yet been with the regulator for the average amount of time before a
drug is approved.

The company also said it made a net loss of UKP6.9m for the six months to
the end of March, compared with UKP6.7m the previous year. Mr Guy said this
was in line with his budget.

However, not all of the analysts who follow the stock were upbeat about
Sativex's progress. Karl Keegan from Canaccord noted that the drug
regulator might have further questions regarding quality control, safety
and efficacy of Sativex and now wants to include data from new Phase III
trials into its analysis.

"It adds an as yet undefined delay into our timelines," he said, urging
clients to sell the shares.

GW Pharma has not been without its controversies. Angry investors
questioned whether the flotation, in 2001, had been overhyped since the
share price fell dramatically after the company listed. GW's broker has
denied this.

Dr Guy also raised eyebrows for selling UKP5m of shares at 200p each last
summer before deadlines on the drug approval slipped. He has said that he
hadn't got a problem with this behaviour.

 

 

 

After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back. 




This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.

Feel free to link to this page!