BRITISH FIRM RECEIVES CANADIAN APPROVAL FOR CANNABIS PAINKILLER

British biotechnology firm GW Pharmacueticals has announced that it
has received Canadian approval to market Sativex, a cannabis-based
painkiller seeking American approval via Kalamazoo's Apjohn Group LLC.

GW plans to have the oral analgesic spray -- the first cannabis-or
marijuana-derived drug approved in the world -- on the Canadian market
later this spring, according to a press release. Bayer HealthCare AG
will market the product, which primarily treats neuropathic pain in
adults with multiple sclerosis.

Apjohn, the local life sciences consulting firm started by former
Pharmacia Corp. executive Donald Parfet and others two years ago, was
hired by GW early this year to help bring Sativex closer to U.S.
clinical trials by early 2006. Experts say that trial process could
take another three to five years.

Mark Rogerson, GW press and public relations representative, said
Tuesday that it's too soon to predict how the Canadian approval might
affect the American regulatory process.