G.W. Pharmaceuticals has created Epidiolex, a liquid formulation of pure cannabidiol (CBD). The drug is currently on an FDA Fast Track and has entered its final Phase 3 study for pediatric epilepsy disorders such as Dravet’s and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes with results scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.
Extracting patentable pain pills from cannabis has been on the drug company’s radar since governments first started allowing research into the plant. The question is now whether the federal government will crackdown on the existing CBD market. In addition to fast-tracking Epidiolex, the federal government has paved the way for cannabis-derived drugs like Marinol. However, MSN reports that the ginvolvement of G.W. Pharmaceuticals has been “far more pleasing to the FDA and other federal agencies.”