Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2013
Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
Author: Lucy Tobin

DRUGS GROUP'S HIGH HOPES FOR EPILEPSY TRIALS

A CANNABIS-based medicine could help the world's 50 million 
epileptics control their seizures after a British drugmaker today 
began putting a potential treatment through human clinical trials.

GW Pharmaceuticals, which already uses cannabis to make Sativex for 
MS sufferers, has spent five years carrying out pre-clinical research 
on whether a cannabis-derived compound could treat epileptics' 
seizures, with fewer side effects than current drugs.

About a third of epileptics take no medication, either because 
existing treatments don't control their seizures or because they 
can't tolerate the side effects.

But positive results from GW's research mean it is putting its 
potential new drug, dubbed GWP42006, through Phase 1 human trials. 
The drugmaker grows genetically-cloned marijuana plants for the 
medicine in secret locations in England.

The trials announcement is "a significant milestone in the 
development of this novel product candidate," said Stephen Wright, 
GW's director of research.
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