Two cannabis-based medicines approved for NHS

Following new guidelines from NICE, two cannabis-based medicines, used to treat epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, have been approved for use by the NHS in England.

Doctors will now be able to prescribe Epidyolex, for children with two types of severe epilepsy - Lennox Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome - which can cause multiple seizures a day. Clinical trials have shown the oral solution could reduce the number of seizures by up to 40 per cent in some children.

It is estimated there are 3,000 people with Dravet and 5,000 with Lennox Gastaut syndrome in England.

Epidyolex costs between £5,000 and £10,000 per patient each year, but manufacturer GW Pharmaceuticals has agreed a lower discounted price with the NHS. It was approved for use in Europe in September, but in draft guidance NICE initially said it was not value for money.

Charities, including Epilepsy Action, have widely welcomed the move, although some campaigners who have been fighting for access to the drugs have said it does not go far enough. Millie Hinton, from the campaign End Our Pain, said the guidelines were ‘a massive missed opportunity’ to prescribe medical cannabis for thousands of people with a range of conditions.

She said: “It is particularly devastating that there is no positive recommendation that the NHS should allow prescribing of whole-plant medical cannabis containing both CBD (cannabidiol) and THC in appropriate cases of intractable childhood epilepsy. It is this kind of whole plant extract that has been shown to be life-transforming for a significant number of children, including these involved in the high-profile cases of last year which led to medical cannabis being legalised.”