Cost of Epidiolex Shocks Cannabis Consumers
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]L[/dropcap]ast June, Epidiolex became the first-ever cannabis-derived medicine to be approved by the FDA, but at $32,500.00 per year, many cannabis consumers doubt they’d ever be able to afford the cost.
The cost of the drug was unveiled Aug. 9. Julian Gangolli is North American president of Greenwich Biosciences, a subsidiary of GW Pharmaceuticals. “The analysis of the direct cost burden associated with LGS and Dravet syndrome in the U.S. showed a substantial cost burden for both conditions, and further highlights the need for this new therapeutic option,” Gangolli said.
Technically, Epidiolex could’ve cost more, considering that a 2016 estimate pegged the drug between $30,000 and $60,000 per year. British-based GW Pharmaceuticals leadership said that it aims to align Epidiolex’s cost with other typical anti-epileptic pharmaceutical drugs.
Other non-pharmaceutical cannabis epilepsy solutions are much cheaper. The estimated monthly cost of Charlotte’s Web, high in CBD and designed for epileptics, is only $100-$600 dollars. Epidiolex, at that price, will cost about $2708.33 per month—almost reaching the cost of HIV drugs.
Great excitement has been brewing about the medical implications and the financial implications of a federally-approved drug. Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized the significance of the drug’s approval. “This approval serves as a reminder,” Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner, said in a statement in June. “that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) must reschedule CBD before Epidiolex can be prescribed by doctors. According to Business Insider, a DEA public affairs officer said that it must be rescheduled to Schedule 2, 3,4 or 5. The DEA has 90 days following Epidiolex’s approval on June 25 to reschedule.
People and children suffering from Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut have few options when it comes to finding a medication that works. Dravet syndrome, for instance, is considered treatable but incurable.
