GW Pharmaceuticals

GW Pharmaceuticals is a British pharmaceutical company known for its multiple sclerosis treatment product nabiximols (brand name, Sativex) which was the first natural cannabis plant derivative to gain market approval in any country.[4] Another cannabis-based product, Epidiolex, was approved for treatment of epilepsy by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018.[5]

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC
TypePublic limited company
NASDAQ: GWPH
IndustryPharmaceutical
Founded1998
FounderGeoffrey Guy and Brian Whittle
HeadquartersCambridge,
United Kingdom[1]
Key people
Justin Gover (CEO)[2]
ProductsEpidiolex (Epidyolex in Europe), Sativex
Revenue$311 million (2019)[3]
DivisionsBiotechnology
Websitewww.gwpharm.co.uk

History

GW Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1998 by Doctors Geoffrey Guy and Brian Whittle. That year, they obtained a cultivation license from the United Kingdom Home Office and the MHRA, allowing the company to cultivate, possess and supply cannabis to conduct scientific research concerning medicinal uses of the plant.[6][7]

Later that year, GW Pharmaceuticals entered into a contract with HortaPharm B.V., a cannabis research and development corporation based in Amsterdam.[8] The company was founded by two expert horticulturists from California,[9] Robert Connell Clarke[10] and David Paul Watson, and grew and developed specialized strains of cannabis with permission from the Dutch government.[11][12][13][14]

In 2001, GW Pharmaceuticals listed on AIM, the junior market of the London Stock Exchange.[15] In May 2013, the company became dual-listed on the NASDAQ and AIM.[16]

Marketed products

Sativex
Main article: Nabiximols

Nabiximols (trade name Sativex) is a botanical drug that is a cannabis extract, administered as a mouth spray; it was approved in the UK in 2010 as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to alleviate neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder, and other symptoms.

Nabiximols is made with two unknown Cannabis strains, and is extracted with ethanol and carbon dioxide.[17][18]

In 2011, GW Pharmaceuticals concluded a partnership with Bayer for the distribution of Sativex in the UK,[19] and have an estimated annual production of 100 tons of medicinal cannabis since 2012.[20]

Epidiolex

In 2015 GW Pharmaceutical initiated Phase 3 clinical trials of cannabidiol oral solution for treatment of two orphan conditions in children – Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes.[21][22] GW also received fast track designation from the US FDA for use of the drug candidate to treat newborns with epilepsy.[23]

The drug, under the brand name Epidiolex, was given US FDA approval in June 2018.[24][25] It was subsequently given European EMA approval in September 2019 under the brand name Epidyolex.[26][27]

See also

References
  1. "GW Pharmaceuticals Ltd". 17 August 2017.
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/apr/17/gw-pharmaceuticals-justin-gover-cannabis-sativex-multiple-sclerosis The Observer, Sunday 17 April 2011)
  3. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/25/1990437/0/en/GW-Pharmaceuticals-plc-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Year-End-2019-Financial-Results-and-Operational-Progress.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Elizabeth Landau (21 June 2010). "World's first fully approved cannabis drug on sale in UK". Thechart.blogs.cnn.com.
  5. Debra Goldschmidt and Susan Scutti. "FDA approves first cannabis-based drug". CNN. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. Pete Brady (25 April 2003). "GW Pharm responds to CC". Cannabisculture.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
  7. Mary Lynn Mathre, R. N. (July 1997). Cannabis in Medical Practice: A Legal, Historical, and Pharmacological Overview of the Therapeutic Use of Marijuana (Google eBook). ISBN 9780786403615 – via Google Books.
  8. "The Inheritance of Chemical Phenotype in Cannabis sativa L.(HortaPharm B.V., 1075 VS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Instituto Sperimentale per le Colture Industriali, 40128 Bologna, Italy)". Genetics.org. 1 January 2003.
  9. "sam-the-skunkman [Four Twenty Wiki]". Fourtwentywiki.com. 16 August 2011.
  10. "inauthor:"Robert Connell Clarke" – Google Search".
  11. Marks, MD; Tian, L; Wenger, JP; et al. (2009). "Seeds from the marijuana cultivar Skunk no. 1 were provided by HortaPharm BV (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and imported under a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permit to a registered controlled substance research facility". J. Exp. Bot. 60 (13): 3715–26. doi:10.1093/jxb/erp210. PMC 2736886. PMID 19581347.
  12. "Details released of collaboration between GW Pharmaceuticals and HortaPharm medicinal cannabis". Gwpharm.com.
  13. Breen, Bill (1 February 2004). "The Cannabis Conundrum". Fastcompany.com.
  14. Breen, Bill (1 February 2004). "Dr. Dope's Connection". Fastcompany.com.
  15. "GW Pharma aims for $150m in Nasdaq offering". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  16. "UK Cannabis Grower on a High With Wall Street Funding Bid". International Business Times UK. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  17. "Extraction of pharmaceutically active components from plant materials". Patentstorm.us. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  18. "Is Big Pharma set to corner the American market on medical marijuana?". Americanindependent.com. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
  19. "GWPharma – GW and Bayer Announce Marketing Agreement on Pioneering New Cannabis-based Treatment". Gwpharm.com. 30 September 2004. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  20. "Medical Cannabis Strains – Geoffrey Guy, MD (GW Pharmaceuticals, UK (Conference)". Youtube.com. 23 February 2010.
  21. Ward, Andrew (9 January 2014). "GW raises nearly $90m to develop childhood epilepsy treatment". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  22. Butticè, Claudio (9 December 2015). "Therapeutic Cannabis for children – a possible new treatment for epilepsy". Meds News. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  23. Tony Quested for Business Weekly. 6 August 2015 FDA backs cannabis-based medicine for in-danger newborns
  24. "FDA approves country's first medicine made from marijuana - STAT". STAT. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  25. Julia Kollewe (25 June 2018), "UK epilepsy drug to become first cannabis-based medicine in US", The Guardian
  26. [ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/epidyolex#authorisation-details-section ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/epidyolex#authorisation-details-section] Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49795260. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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