GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) is currently up 100%+ following positive results from their Phase 3 trials for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, a highly treatment-resistant epileptic syndrome. This is the 1st of 2 Phase 3 trials being conducted by GW Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of Dravet syndrome.
For the 14-week treatment period, the study included 120 patients with 61 given Epidiolex and 59 patients were given a placebo. The 120 test population consisted of individuals who were experiencing 13 convulsive seizures a month and failed at least 4 or more anti-epileptic drugs. Patients who received the drug experienced a 39% median reduction in monthly convulsive seizures, while the placebo had a 13% reduction.
“The results of this Epidiolex pivotal trial are important and exciting as they represent the first placebo-controlled evidence to support the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical cannabidiol in children with Dravet syndrome, one of the most severe and difficult-to-treat types of epilepsy,” said Orrin Devinsky, M.D., of New York University Langone Medical Center’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. “These data demonstrate that Epidiolex delivers clinically important reductions in seizure frequency together with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, providing the epilepsy community with the prospect of an appropriately standardized and tested pharmaceutical formulation of cannabidiol being made available by prescription in the future.”
3 investment banks cover the stock and all 3 of them have buy recommendations with price targets surpassing the current price.
· Piper Jaffray: $147 (~63$ upside)
· Leerink: $130 (~44% upside)
· Morgan Stanley: $136 (~51% upside from the current price)
Morgan Stanley projects that the worldwide peak sales of Epidiolex could reach ~$2.5 billion.
With these results a major question looms…
Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.
This is a seminal moment in the evolution of the regulated medicinal marijuana industry. The benefits of cannabis can longer be denied and research can no longer be blocked as this study is proof positive of the value and benefits of marijuana. How can marijuana be a Schedule 1 drug when the FDA has recognized GW Pharmaceutical’s cannabis derived medicine a successful treatment for Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gestaut syndrome?
GW Pharmaceuticals represents a compelling opportunity to invest in a true medical cannabis company. While the results for GW’s epilepsy drug are encouraging, as mentioned in the previous blog post, GW Pharmaceuticals have many other drugs in their pipeline that are beginning to show some promising data. GW Pharmaceuticals is not just a one trick pony and as time progresses and marijuana is removed from being a Schedule 1 drug, Phyto Partners anticipates that a large pharmaceutical company will be interested in partnering up and/or acquiring GWPH to enter the Medicinal cannabis space which holds promise for many new drugs derived from marijuana for treatment of many diseases and illnesses.
