GW's cannabis-derived drug Epidiolex finally launches in the US with an average list price of $32,500
Following the keenly anticipated June approval of its cannabis-derived Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals $GWPH has finally launched the rare epilepsy drug in the United States.
The drug comprises cannabidiol (CBD) with a minuscule 0.1% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the component renowned for its ability to get people high. Epidiolex is sourced from natural cannabis grown by the British drugmaker in the United Kingdom. In America, marijuana is strictly controlled on the federal level in the same schedule LSD and heroin is. Therefore, even though Epidiolex won FDA approval in June for two forms of childhood epilepsy — Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome — GW had to get the drug rescheduled to a lower category before it could be launched for sale. Most patients that suffer from these disorders require a host of seizure medications, and a majority are resistant to existing anti-epileptic therapies.
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