The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first cannabis-derived drug for sale, which has shown to control seizures in children with life-threatening forms of epilepsy.
Epidiolex, manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals in the UK, is made from cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant. It was made for children 2 and older who are diagnosed with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two serious forms of epilepsy that cause life-long developmental delays.
It's not clear how quickly the drug will be available for prescription.
The goal is have it available in pharmacies by the end of the year, said Orrin Devinsky, a pediatric neurologist and director of the New York University-Langone and Saint Barnabas Comprehensive Epilepsy Center in Livingston, who co-authored the research.