NHS to fast track access to cannabis based treatment for epilepsy

NHS England is fast tracking access to the cannabis based treatment Epidyolex for two forms of severe epilepsy after negotiating a discount with the manufacturer.

From 6 January doctors will be able to prescribe Epidyolex with clobazam for children aged 2 and over with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

The announcement follows recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on 18 December that the NHS should pay for Epidyolex.12 It follows the findings of NICE’s final appraisal on cannabis based products which was published in November 2019.3 NICE initially rejected the use of cannabidiol in draft appraisal documents in August …