A London company licensed to grow and test medical marijuana in clinical trials is set to begin evaluating the drug’s effectiveness on patients suffering from cancer pain. The Phase III trial, to be administered by GW Pharmaceuticals, will take place at more than 20 centers throughout United Kingdom and involve over 100 patients.
Patients in the trial will receive marijuana extracts via a sublingual (under-the-tongue) spray. Previous studies by GW Pharmaceuticals on Multiple Sclerosis and spinal cord injury patients found that nearly 80 percent of those administered cannabis extracts experienced a reduction in pain and an improved quality of life.
The upcoming cancer pain study will be the first large-scale trial to examine the analgesic effects of marijuana on cancer-related pain. “The potential market is very significant since approximately 40 percent of cancer sufferers at present have unmet needs in pain suppression,” GW Pharmaceuticals Chairman Geoffrey Guy said.
In its year-end company report, Managing Director Justin Gover reaffirmed GW’s intentions to present its patient trial data to UK regulatory authorities sometime next year. “We remain on track to deliver our first products to market in 2004,” Gover said in a prepared statement. He added that GW recently attained approval from American authorities to import cannabis extracts into the United States.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Director of Publications and Research, at (202) 483-5500 or visit: http://www.gwpharm.com.