Ullman Discusses CBD in Pharmaceuticals for Life Science Leader
January 3, 2019 | | |Marc Ullman was interviewed for a January 2, 2019, article in Life Science Leader magazine entitled “The Unique Challenges Facing Cannabis-based Pharma.” The story covers the lengthy process to get Epidiolex, the first ever pharmaceutical derived from cannabis, approved for medical use.
Marc noted that GW Pharmaceuticals, which developed Epidiolex, was successful because it is based outside the U.S. “It’s not accident GW is based in the UK.” He added, “The federal government remains extremely hostile to anything having to do with marijuana, in particular the DEA.” He also said that many banks refuse to handle funds from marijuana-based companies, and shipping source material is also illegal.
Marc explained that the science behind botanicals makes the pharmaceutical approval process especially challenging. “The first thing you need to do is identify the specific chemical entity that is going to achieve the desired result,” he said. “With botanicals, that is really hard, because these plants are usually efficacious as a naturally occurring cocktail.”
