CANNABIS DRUG LAUNCHED IN UK

LONDON-A drug manufactured from cannabis went on sale in the U.K.
Monday as a treatment for symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Sativex, which is made from cannabis plants grown at secret locations
in England by developer GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, is the first
prescription drug made from cannabis to officially go on sale
anywhere in the world. It offers legal access to the beneficial
effects of an illegal drug thousands of multiple sclerosis sufferers
have smoked in an attempt to relieve their pain. It is also a shot in
the arm for small U.K. drug developers, which have struggled in
recent years to win investor confidence--and funding--because of
setbacks in clinical trials of their experimental medicines. Sativex
was approved Friday by the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, as a treatment for spasticity in multiple
sclerosis patients who aren't benefiting from other treatments. It
had been in development for 11 years.

Sativex's approval follows successful clinical trials. The drug will
be marketed in the U.K. by Germany's Bayer AG , which said Monday it
will cost the country's state-run National Health Service roughly
UKP11 ($14) a day for each patient.

Sativex has been available previously on a limited basis to patients
in Canada and the U.K. but hadn't yet been marketed.

The formal launch of Sativex represents a milestone in treating the
disease, said Pam Macfarlane, Chief Executive of the MS Trust, a
charity that has campaigned for a licensed medicine derived from
cannabis to be made available to multiple sclerosis sufferers. The
charity has long known cannabis helped patients' symptoms, Ms.
Macfarlane said. Roughly a third of multiple-sclerosis patients are
believed to have tried cannabis to get relief, with some surveys
suggesting the proportion is as high as 43%, said GW Pharmaceuticals
Managing Director Justin Gover. Bayer said there are about 100,000
people in the U.K. who suffer from multiple sclerosis and many
experience from spasms, cramps and similar symptoms known
collectively as spasticity.

However, Sativex doesn't work for everyone. Bayer estimates about
11,500 people in the U.K. will be eligible for treatment with Sativex
but only about half of them will get a good response.

Spain is expected to be the next country to approve Sativex for sale,
where Almirall SA holds the marketing license. Almirall is also GW's
partner for the rest of Europe, excluding the U.K., and Mr. Gover
said the two companies will be seeking approval in Germany, Italy,
France and other European countries later this year.

Analysts at brokers Nomura Code Securities and KBC Peel Hunt estimate
sales of Sativex as a multiple-sclerosis spasticity treatment will
peak in Europe at about UKP50 million. Piper Jaffray forecasts sales
of more than UKP100 million. A bigger potential prize exists in the
U.S., where Sativex is being developed as a painkiller for cancer
patients. Mr. Gover said GW and U.S. partner Otsuka Pharmaceutical
Co. of Japan are scheduled to meet the Food and Drug Administration
this summer to discuss Phase III trials.