GW TO LICENSE BLOCK ON MEDICINE ABUSE

GW Pharmaceuticals, the drugs group trialling painkillers made from
cannabis, is close to a deal to license a novel technology it has developed
to prevent abuse of prescription medicines.

The company is in talks over rights to the product, which GW is using to
ensure that patients do not use its cannabis sprays to get high.

The under-the-tongue spray is fitted with a security device, where patients
must insert a personal code to activate the drug. The device also monitors
the dose taken and the frequency of uses.

Geoffrey Guy, the executive chairman, said the company had needed to
develop some security technology to prevent its prototype medicines from
being abused by patients or used by others not taking part in the trials.

"It is just like a credit card company monitoring your spending patterns to
check for anything out of the ordinary," he said.

Mr Guy said he recognised the wider potential of the system for a range of
controlled drugs and was looking at ways of exploiting the technology on
behalf of shareholders. He confirmed he was in talks with other companies
and said he hoped to have news of a deal in the next few months.

A licensing agreement could bring in useful cash as GW launches large-scale
clinical trials to establish how effective its cannabis spray really is.

Early phase trials, details of which were released last week, suggest that
the drug measurably reduces pain, muscle spasms and bladder problems in
people suffering from multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury. By next
year, some 500 patients, including many with terminal cancer, are expected
to have tried GW's spray.

Mr Guy believes that, if the trials are successful, a prescription medicine
will be on the market early in 2004, and the Government has promised to
change the law to allow medical use.