17th Jun 2014 11:55
LONDON (Alliance News) - GW Pharmaceuticals PLC said Tuesday that it had received "promising" data from physician reports on 27 children and young adults being treated in a trial with its Epidiolex drug for treatment-resistant epilepsy.
The patients had a range of different epilepsy conditions for which current treatments have not been successful, including severe forms such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
The data showed that a high proportion of patients who responded to Epidiolex showed a reduction in seizure frequency of more than 50%. A portion of the patients were reported to be seizure-free at the end of 12 weeks of treatment.
The company said that the data supports its decision to advance the treatment into a formal development programme, and it will commence a Phase II/III trial in Dravet syndrome in the second half of 2014.
The mean average overall reduction in seizure frequency compare to baseline seizure frequency was 44%, and the median average reduction was 42%.
48% of the 27 patients saw at least a 50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 22% saw a 90% reduction. 15% of patients were seizure free by the end of 12 weeks.
Shares in GW Pharmaceuticals were trading up 4.6% at 391.75 pence Tuesday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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