cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Drug Firm GW Pharma Loss Widens





Cannabis Drug Firm GW Pharma Loss Widens
Posted by CN Staff on June 20, 2006 at 07:06:47 PT
By Reuters
Source: Reuters 
London -- GW Pharmaceuticals which has developed a pain relief drug from cannabis, posted a wider first-half net loss on Tuesday on an expected rise in spending on clinical trials.The firm also said it had spoken to about five regulators in continental Europe about potentially filing its flagship drug, Sativex, with them rather than in Britain.
Sativex, which is sprayed under the tongue, was initially expected to be approved in Britain by the end of 2003, but has suffered numerous delays with regulators requesting more data to prove its benefits.Its prospects were further muddied in March, when GW reported mixed results from a clinical trial in multiple sclerosis patients with spasticity.GW told Reuters earlier this month it was talking to an unspecified number of regulators in continental Europe."I think we've seen about five so far and we have further discussions with them which will take us through the summer," Chief Executive Geoffrey Guy said in a telephone interview.If these talks do not give GW enough confidence of success, the firm will wait for the results of two clinical trials of Sativex in neuropathic pain due later this year, he added.Canada became the first country to approve Sativex for sale in April 2005 as a treatment for neuropathic pain.GW grows thousands of marijuana plants at a secret location in the English countryside, having been granted a dispensation by the government to use the plant for medical research.The firm said it made a net loss of 6.2 million pounds in the six months ended March 31, up from a loss of 5.1 million in the same period last year.Revenues totalled 730,000 pounds, including 501,000 pounds from sales of Sativex in Canada, as well as severely restricted sales in Spain and the UK.Research and development spending rose to 6.5 million pounds from 5 million, as GW works towards starting clinical trials for Sativex in the United States towards the end of this year.Guy said the firm was in talks with a number of potential partners for Sativex in the United States, but did not expect a deal until next year.At 10:40 a.m., GW shares were down 5.1 percent at 74 pence, reversing some of the gains it has made in the past week.GW said it had 25.4 million pounds of cash at March 31, which Investec Securities analysts said would take it well into 2008, not accounting for the potential U.S. partnering deal. Source: Reuters (UK)Published: June 20, 2006Copyright: 2006 Reuters Related Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/What's The Best Way To Take Medical Marijuana?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21823.shtmlGW Pharma Buoyed by Hopes for Cannabis Drughttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20141.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on June 21, 2006 at 07:28:07 PT
Thanks, Kap!
I wanted someone who knew about how this stuff worked to analyze this article.You put it so well..."Feverishly reinventing the wheel."The insanity of the war against cannabis and cannabis users has got to rate right up there with the stupidest, vilest, most stubborn wrong-headed acts that any government has ever bludgeoned it's people with. Then they made their little tactic into a cash cow for government. Even with the knowledge that besides being pallative, it's a powerful cancer fighter and preventer...we still have to fight government to give us back our natural right to this natural plant. It's crazy.And what they do to people to punish and prevent them from using this plant! Justice? You've got to be kidding.
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on June 21, 2006 at 05:55:59 PT:
Almost like a Fed bureaucracy, no?
Feverishly 're-inventing the wheel', and losing big bucks while you're at it, and making sure that by preventing people from growing their own meds by supporting the Gubmint's phony War on (Some) Drugs, they will someday translate today's losses into a profitable future monopoly. If they can just have their consultant 'friends' like Andrea Barthwell lobby her former pals in Congress and the bureaucracy to keep the political lid on MMJ long enough, that is.While people suffer and die unnecessarily, during the time it takes to read this. 
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