How GW Pharma’s Newest Cannabinoid Trial Is a Game Changer

The company announced positive top-line results from an exploratory Phase 2a placebo-controlled clinical trial of Cannabidiol (CBD) in 88 patients with schizophrenia who had previously failed to respond adequately to first line anti-psychotic medications.

The results are of particular interest because the pharmacology of CBD is distinct from existing anti-psychotic medications, all of which act via effects on dopamine receptors.

The safety profile of CBD was particularly reassuring, with no serious adverse events and an overall frequency of adverse events very similar to placebo.

GW Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform — in laymen’s terms a weed or marijuana-based product platform.

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Professor Philip McGuire, head of the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, and principal investigator of the study, commented on the results:

The addition of Cannabidiol to the medication of patients who were only partially responsive to standard anti-psychotic treatment produced significant improvements in outcome measures compared with placebo.

GW CEO Justin Gover said:

These findings further reinforce the potential role of cannabinoids in the field of neuropsychiatric disease. We believe that the signals of efficacy demonstrated in this trial, together with a notably reassuring safety profile, provide GW with the prospect of new and distinct cannabinoid neuropsychiatric product pipeline opportunity. Similar to our approach for Epidiolex, we believe that our future research in this area may lie within pediatric orphan neuropsychiatric indications and we intend to explore this as a focus for future trials.

As of the most recent settlement date, the company saw its short interest rise to 1.73 million shares, with 6.0 days to cover, from the previous level of 1.59 million with 4.1 days to cover.

So far in 2015, shares of GW have outperformed the market, up 58% year to date, though in the past 52 weeks shares are only up 19%.

Shares of GW were up 13% at $120.88 just after the opening bell. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $143.60 and a 52-week trading range of $58.16 to $133.98.

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