SHARES IN CANNABIS DRUG FIRM FALL 26% AFTER IT SCRAPS TRIAL RESULTS

GW Pharmaceuticals vociferously defended its pioneering drug Sativex
yesterday after it was forced to admit a recent trial had
disappointed, as a result its shares fell sharply.

The Salisbury-based maker of medicines using cannabis insisted the
drug's efficacy in controlling pain in multiple sclerosis was not
called into question but the news raised doubts over whether GW
Pharma's main product will ever become a commercial success.

GW said in a statement to the stock exchange that the patient
response rate to its drug was "very high", but the difference from
response to a placebo was insufficient so the trial was unable to
yield a "statistically significant outcome".

The research will not detract from any previous positive trials using
Sativex for pain relief for multiple sclerosis or other conditions,
said Justin Gover, managing director, but GW will have to scrap these
results and conduct a new trial. Separate trials on Sativex for other
symptoms were not affected.

The market was unsettled by the news and the shares closed down
18.5p, or 26%, at 52p. Paul Cuddon, KBC Peel Hunt analys, commented
that "this indicates that the effect of Sativex is marginal, and we
retain our doubts as to whether the product will ever prove a
commercial success".

GW Pharma has been developing Sativex for 10 years, working with
government backing to develop a safe way to provide cannabis-based pain relief.

The drug became the first cannabis-derived medicine to win regulatory
approval when it was approved in Canada in 2005 as a treatment for
pain in multiple sclerosis patients and it is also available in
Britain on special prescriptions.