U.K Government Rejects GW Pharmaceuticals' Cannabis Drug

On Wednesday, U.K. based media reported that a cannabis drug developed by

has been rejected by the National Institute For Health and Care Excellence (NICE.) The government body is tasked with determining suitable medicines for use within England's state health service. GW Pharmaceuticals produces Savitex, a cannabis based drug which is sprayed under a patient's tongue for treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis. GW Pharmaceuticals sells Savitex as a prescription drug within the U.K. by its partner, German group Bayer and is approved for use in more than 20 countries. NICE determined that the use of the drug does not provide value for the state health system. Paul Cooper, a consultant neurologist at the Greater Manchester Neuroscience Centre said that “there are better ways to improve care for people with MS.” “We think it is a terrible shame that, because of cost-cutting presented as science, MS patients in England are being denied a treatment which works in many cases,” a GW Pharmaceutical spokesman