Law change boost for cannabis medicine
GW Pharmaceuticals can now sell its cannabinoid-based products with less restriction in the UK thanks to a significant tweak in the law.
GW Pharmaceuticals can now sell its cannabinoid-based products with less restriction in the UK thanks to a significant tweak in the law.
he business is thriving around Europe with Sativex®, its treatment for spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis, but UK progress has been held back by legislation.
Lawmakers have now made a distinction between drugs produced from cannabis under rigorous scientific procedures and crude herbal cannabis, which carries high risk of abuse.
In an historic law change, the treatment has today been rescheduled in the UK from Schedule 1 under the Misuse of Drugs Act to Schedule 4, Part 1. The move follows a recommendation to the Home Office by the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which determined that Sativex has a low potential for abuse and low risk of diversion.
The new, less restrictive scheduling means that Sativex can be prescribed in the UK with no restriction on supply, recording, storage or destruction. The change confirms the distinction between Sativex - with its evidence of quality, safety and efficacy as recognised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) - and crude herbal cannabis, which will remain on Schedule 1 of the Act.
Dr Geoffrey Guy, GW's chairman, said: "This rescheduling is an important legal milestone for Sativex, both in the UK and around the world. It provides a strong reference source for lawmakers and will help differentiate Sativex and any future cannabinoid prescription medicines developed by GW from crude herbal cannabis.
"Achieving a low restrictive scheduling for Sativex was one of the fundamental goals that GW set out to achieve from inception and we are delighted that the extensive scientific data generated over the last decade has informed the UK government in making this important decision."
http://www.businessweekly.co.uk 10/04/2013
S
Soft Secrets
