A British pharmaceutical company has received an award for its work in prescription-based cannabis medicine.
London-based GW Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2021 in the Innovation category.
Industry Innovation and Cannabis Compassion
Recognizing outstanding achievements in innovation, the annual Queen’s Award for Enterprise is regarded as the highest official UK award for British businesses.
In 2021, the award lauds GW Pharmaceutical’s innovative and ground-breaking work in cannabinoid science to create approved prescription-based cannabinoid medicines.
GW Pharmaceuticals is the maker of the cannabis-derived Sativex oral spray for multiple sclerosis, and cannabidiol-based (CBD) Epidiolex.
Epidiolex is used to treat seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex in patients one year of age or older.
Founded in 1998, GW Pharmaceuticals has worked to develop, manufacture, and commercialize regulatory-approved cannabis medicines to improve the lives of patients and families worldwide.
GW Pharmaceuticals has invested more than £1.3 billion in research, development, and infrastructure to bring their medicines to patients.
Between its headquarters in London and other facilities, GW Pharmaceuticals has more than 1,100 employees worldwide.
Founder Dr. Geoffrey Guy says it is an honor to receive such a prestigious award for British businesses.
“When Dr. Brian Whittle and I founded GW 23 years ago, our mission was to improve the lives of seriously ill patients by unlocking the potential of the cannabis plant through rigorous scientific investigations and extensive clinical trials in order to obtain regulatory approval for such medicines to benefit patients,” says Guy. “Much of what is known about the medical uses of cannabis was discovered by GW. We have led the way in understanding cannabinoid science and how, if harnessed correctly and taken through the regulatory pathway, it has the potential to improve the lives of patients and their families.”
GW Pharmaceuticals says that the Queen’s Award for Enterprise recognizes the company’s leadership in cannabinoid science and efforts to benefit the medical community, pharmaceutical industry, and society—showing regulators and governments that they can work within the existing pharmaceutical regulatory system to develop clinically proven cannabis-based medicines.
As a result, GW Pharmaceuticals says it has created a roadmap to studying, manufacturing, and delivering cannabis-based medicines.
GW Pharmaceuticals also says that it has supported regulators by providing high-quality evidence to support regulatory approval of its marketed medicines.
“Thanks to two decades of perseverance, dedication, and pioneering work, GW has established a world-leading position in cannabinoid science and brought breakthrough medicines to patients in a new frontier of medicine,” says GW Pharmaceuticals CEO Justin Gover. “We are immensely proud to have that work and dedication recognised by the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Our continued commitment to research and development has resulted in the treatment of thousands of patients with our medicines and the prospect of helping countless more families through our robust pipeline of early- and late-stage product candidates.”
The Queen’s Award for Enterprise goes to products or services that have been available on the market and demonstrate outstanding innovation and commercial success for at least two years.
