The EU has approved the use of a medicinal cannabis product for epilepsy for the first time.
The product is aimed at patients with two rare, but severe, forms of childhood epilepsy.
Now Doctors in the UK and other European countries will be able to prescribe Epidyolex, an oral solution of cannabidiol (CBD), if they believe it will help the patient.
The NHS however does not currently recommend the product.
Ley Sander, Medical Director at the Epilepsy Society and Professor of Neurology at University College London, said: “This new drug will bring hope for some families and EU approval feels like a positive step. Medicinal cannabis, however, still remains a medical minefield and there are many hurdles ahead.
“CBD was not recommended by NICE for prescription on the NHS. It is important that the pharmaceutical industry continues to work with the medical advisory body to ensure that drugs are cost effective and that its long-term effects are clear.”
Epidyolex does not contain any of the psycho-active component of cannabis, otherwise known as THC.
The product has been approved as a treatment option for children as young as two with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome; two difficult-to-treat conditions that can cause multiple seizures a day.
