Positive late-stage clinical trial results sent GW Pharmaceuticals ' (GWP) share price up 125 per cent in one day. Human trials for Epidiolex, the group's drug for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy, were only initiated a couple of years ago, and have now been found to significantly reduce the number of convulsive seizures in young patients.
The group will now start applications for approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commercialise the cannabis-based drug. The approval process won't be completed until 2017, but when it does Epidiolex will be the first drug for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, exposing GWP to a very exciting market. Consensus analyst expectations are that the drug could generate annual sales of $1.1bn (£0.77bn) by 2021, according to Thomson Reuters.
Commenting on the news, chief executive Justin Gover said: "It's these kinds of moments that are the beginning of the next chapter. This is the moment that we can start to plan ahead the commercialisation of this drug with confidence."
