New indication for cannabis treatments

Wednesday February 1st 2023

The NHS is to support a new use of cannabis-derived medicines, it has been announced.

Under new guidance, doctors will be allowed to prescribe cannabidiol for tuberous sclerosis complex, which causes a kind of epilepsy.

NHS England said about 1,000 patients will benefit from the treatment, which is the fifth indication for cannabis-derived treatments to be approved.

The treatment has been shown to reduce the frequency of seizures by about 30%.

NHS Director of Specialised Commissioning and interim Director of Commercial Medicines, John Stewart, said: “It is great news for patients that the NHS is able to offer this latest licensed cannabis treatment, which in this instance can help reduce the seizure frequency for those living with a serious genetic condition and significantly improve their quality of life.

“The NHS is committed to making innovative treatments available to patients as quickly as possible, at a fair price to taxpayers, following regulatory approval that provides patients with the knowledge that new treatments are safe and manufactured in a quality controlled environment.”

Dr Pooja Takhar, Joint Chief Executive of Tuberous Sclerosis Association, said: “We’re thrilled that people with TSC in England will now have access to cannabidiol, a potentially life-changing medicine for the eight in 10 people in the UK who have TSC and also difficult to treat TSC-related epilepsy.

“Epilepsy can have a massive impact on overall quality of life for individuals and entire families, meaning that this approval could have a huge benefit to many people with TSC-related epilepsy. We worked tirelessly to make sure that NICE came to the right decision. Although this is a big victory, our work doesn’t stop and we continue to advocate and campaign for the TSC community in all areas.”

Tags: Alternative Therapy | Brain & Neurology | NHS | Pharmaceuticals | UK News

Printer friendly page