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Novartis to sell cannabis drug Sativex globally
Business digest: GW Pharmaceuticals strikes lucrative deal with Swiss company to sell MS drug
British company GW Pharmaceuticals has struck a deal with Swiss drug group Novartis that will see its flagship cannabinoid medicine, Sativex, sold throughout the world.
Novartis will pay GW an initial £3m in order to sell the cannabis-based mouth spray, which is said to alleviate multiple sclerosis, in Australasia, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. GW already has a similar deal with Otsuka Pharmaceutical in the US, and Bayer in the UK.
Justin Gover, GW's managing director, said that Novartis was "an excellent commercial partner for Sativex" because of its "strategic focus in both MS and oncology".
Shares in GW rose by more than 12 pence in reaction to the news.
Read a full report at the Daily Telegraph. ·
