GW SETS UP LAUNCH OF CANNABIS DRUGS

GW Pharmaceuticals, which has a Home Office licence to produce
cannabis-derived medicines said yesterday that it was on track to
launch the first of its products before the end of the year.

Geoffrey Guy, executive chairman, said the company hoped to follow up
UK approval with similar licences in Continental countries in the near
future, but it could be several years before the product is available
in the US.

"The US likes to go back to first principles," he said. "They want
more work and more cost." He said that GW has had discussions with the
US drugs regulator, the FDA, and that he was "happy with the way
discussions have gone".

However, he said the company would need a development partner if it
was to launch in the US. "I am not content to allocate GW balance
sheet resources to US development," he said.

GW's first launch in the UK is likely to be an under-the-tongue spray
for treating sufferers from multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain.

Mr Guy said that licensing the cannabis-derived medicine would not
require a change in the law, merely to secondary legislation. "Our
medicine will need to be scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, like
opiates are," he said.

At the same time as the drug is being approved by the Medicines
Control Agency, it will be looked at by the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence to see if it should be provided on the National
Health Service.

Mr Guy was speaking as the company reported its full-year results. The
business reported an increased loss of UKP12.2m, against UKP7.2m last
year.

Mr Guy said this was due to increased research and development as well
as further staff costs. "We are a much bigger organisation than we
used to be," he said.

The company has also just started trials of a new tamper-proof
dispenser for methadone used to treat heroin addiction.

This project is backed by the Home Office and aims to prevent the need
for "shooting galleries" where addicts are treated under supervision
with injected methadone to prevent misuse. GW shares fell 4.5 to 171p.