NICE Recommends GW Pharma’s Epidyolex for Seizures

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence gave a positive recommendation for GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidyolix (cannabidiol) oral solution to treat seizures in patients with two rare, severe forms of childhood-onset epilepsy.

The recommendation, which the institute previously turned down, covers the drug as an adjunctive therapy for seizures associated with Lennox Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome, in conjunction with clobazam, for patients two years of age and older. It is the first time the agency has recommended any plant-derived cannabis-based medicine.

NICE also gave GW’s Sativex (nabiximols) a positive recommendation for treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. Sativex  is a formulated extract of cannabis that contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).