European Patent Office grants patent for Sativex
Providing an exclusivity period until August 2023
GW Pharmaceuticals, a UK company that makes medicines from cannabis, has been granted a patent by the European Patent Office, which protects the composition of its Sativex formulation. This patent has already been granted in the US.
The patent, entitled ‘Cannabinoid Liquid Formulations for Mucosal Administration’, provides an exclusivity period until August 2023.
In addition to this newly granted patent, Sativex is protected by a number of other patents related to different aspects of the product.
Dr Geoffrey Guy, chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said: ‘The grant of this patent is part of a matrix of intellectual property rights which continue to be developed by GW, comprising patents, plant variety rights and proprietary know-how, devised to provide extended protection of Sativex and the cannabinoid pipeline.’
Sativex, an endocannabinoid modulator made of two actives – THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), is approved in the UK, Spain, Denmark, Czech Republic, Canada and New Zealand as a treatment of multiple sclerosis spasticity.
The product is also in Phase III clinical development with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co for the treatment for cancer pain.
