Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2016 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 TRIAL OF EPILEPSY DRUG IS CALLED A SUCCESS An experimental cannabisbased drug has successfully treated children with a rare form of severe epilepsy in a keenly anticipated clinical trial, an announcement that sent shares of GW Pharmaceuticals soaring on Monday. The study of GW's Epidiolex for the treatment of Dravet syndrome is the first of four final stage Phase III epilepsy trials that the company hopes will confirm the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids, the active ingredients found in marijuana. Results are expected this year. GWs aid Monday that the 120patient trial showed children taking the syrup-based medicine achieved a median reduction in monthly convulsive seizures of 39 percent compared with a reduction on placebo of 13 percent. The difference was highly statistically significant. "This shows that cannabinoids can produce compelling and clinical important data and represent a highly promising new class of medications, hopefully in a range of conditions," chief executive Justin Gover told Reuters. GW will now request a meeting with the Food and Drug Administration to discuss its plans to seek regulatory approval for treating Dravet, which currently has no approved therapies. - - Reuters - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom