Post by seanismorris on Jun 22, 2014 0:28:55 GMT -5
I agree no free passes.
It looks like a British company is getting the work done. Unfortunately, in this case I agree with Cramer with regards to the potential treatments/benefits derived from Cannabis (compounds) research.
-----------
Forget the lighthearted puns about a new kind of Street high, Jim Cramer believes there's serious opportunity in a marijuana stock.
It's GW Pharmaeuticals.
Cramer is a fan of this company, in particular, because it isn't simply a bet on more states approving medical marijuana as a treatment for patients fighting cancer.
Instead, this U.K.-based company is at the forefront of developing new drugs from compounds found in cannabis, or marijuana plants.
"And I think few doctors want to write anyone a prescription for a joint, not just because the stuff is still illegal where the Federal government's concerned, but mostly because, while smoking weed may help people who have cancer or glaucoma, it's simply not what most American doctors would consider medicine."
Instead, Cramer thinks doctors are much more comfortable writing prescriptions for pills or other types of conventional medicine. Therefore he thinks drugs, whose active ingredients are derived from marijuana will be much more palatable to the entire American medical system.
And if any company has a strong pipeline of cannabis derived drugs, it's GW Pharma.
"First, they've already gotten approval for their lead drug, Sativex, a mouth spray for multiple sclerosis spasms, in about 25 foreign countries," Cramer said. "And GW is also studying Sativex as a treatment for cancer pain. If the drug can get approved in the United States, it could be huge for the company, because they've licensed much of the overseas rights to Bayer and Novartis, but in America, Sativex belongs to them."
As promising as that may be, it's this second drug that Cramer called a real game changer. It's Epidiolex, "a cannabis based treatment for epilepsy and Dravet syndrome, a rare but severe form of pediatric epilepsy."
Cramer said the drug is currently starting phase II trials and just a few days ago, the company released strong safety and efficacy data.
"The numbers showed that after 12 weeks of treatment, 48 percent of patients saw at least a 50 percent reduction in seizure frequency, while 41 percent saw a 70 percent reduction. And at the end of the study, 15 percent of those patients were seizure-free. Those are fabulous results."
"Although it will be years before this drug can be approved, already there are peak sales forecasts of as much as $3.4 billion by 2024," Cramer added.
All told, over the long-term, Cramer thinks GW Pharma shareholders may be facing significant opportunity.
It looks like a British company is getting the work done. Unfortunately, in this case I agree with Cramer with regards to the potential treatments/benefits derived from Cannabis (compounds) research.
-----------
Forget the lighthearted puns about a new kind of Street high, Jim Cramer believes there's serious opportunity in a marijuana stock.
It's GW Pharmaeuticals.
Cramer is a fan of this company, in particular, because it isn't simply a bet on more states approving medical marijuana as a treatment for patients fighting cancer.
Instead, this U.K.-based company is at the forefront of developing new drugs from compounds found in cannabis, or marijuana plants.
"And I think few doctors want to write anyone a prescription for a joint, not just because the stuff is still illegal where the Federal government's concerned, but mostly because, while smoking weed may help people who have cancer or glaucoma, it's simply not what most American doctors would consider medicine."
Instead, Cramer thinks doctors are much more comfortable writing prescriptions for pills or other types of conventional medicine. Therefore he thinks drugs, whose active ingredients are derived from marijuana will be much more palatable to the entire American medical system.
And if any company has a strong pipeline of cannabis derived drugs, it's GW Pharma.
"First, they've already gotten approval for their lead drug, Sativex, a mouth spray for multiple sclerosis spasms, in about 25 foreign countries," Cramer said. "And GW is also studying Sativex as a treatment for cancer pain. If the drug can get approved in the United States, it could be huge for the company, because they've licensed much of the overseas rights to Bayer and Novartis, but in America, Sativex belongs to them."
As promising as that may be, it's this second drug that Cramer called a real game changer. It's Epidiolex, "a cannabis based treatment for epilepsy and Dravet syndrome, a rare but severe form of pediatric epilepsy."
Cramer said the drug is currently starting phase II trials and just a few days ago, the company released strong safety and efficacy data.
"The numbers showed that after 12 weeks of treatment, 48 percent of patients saw at least a 50 percent reduction in seizure frequency, while 41 percent saw a 70 percent reduction. And at the end of the study, 15 percent of those patients were seizure-free. Those are fabulous results."
"Although it will be years before this drug can be approved, already there are peak sales forecasts of as much as $3.4 billion by 2024," Cramer added.
All told, over the long-term, Cramer thinks GW Pharma shareholders may be facing significant opportunity.