'Cannabis drug helps arthritis victims'

A pioneering cannabis-based medicine designed to treat multiple sclerosis has helped reduce pain in arthritis sufferers, it was announced today.

Trials of Sativex, produced by drugs company GW Pharmaceuticals, showed that the mouth spray reduced pain and improved the quality of patients’ sleep.

The company is currently waiting for regulatory approval to use Sativex to treat multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain.

Dr Philip Robson, director of GW’s Cannabinoid Research Institute, said this was the first controlled trial of a cannabis-based medicine on arthritis.

He said: “This exploratory trial provides further strong support to our belief that cannabis-based medicines may offer therapeutic potential across a range of medical conditions.”

GW tested the mouth spray on 58 rheumatoid arthritis patients and found that it significantly improved pain and the quality of sleep.

Side effects were minimal and none of the patients dropped out of the tests.

Before it is made available to arthritis patients, Sativex will have to pass a further trial and then gain regulatory approval.

A spokesman said further tests would not start until the company had gained approval for the drug to treat multiple sclerosis. GW had initially hoped this would happen in the first half of 2004 but this date was set back as regulators sought more information.

An update on the situation is expected when the company unveils interim results later this month.

GW, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2002, is the only company to legally develop and produce cannabis-derived treatments.

It also plans to explore the possibility of creating a cannabis-related drug to treat diabetes and Crohn’s disease.

The company grows about 40,000 cannabis plants a year at a secret site in the English countryside and by the end of its financial year had 127 employees, compared with 110 in 2002.

Due to its cannabis content, Sativex will require a change in the law, which ministers have already said they will recommend.