Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II rewards GW Pharmaceuticals for innovation

British company GW Pharmaceuticals, long the only company authorized to grow cannabis in the United Kingdom, received the Queens Award for Enteprise 2021 in recognition of its pioneering work in creating the first cannabis-based prescription medicines to be approved by regulatory authorities.

Considered the UK's highest official award for British business, the Queen's Award for Enterprise is an annual award for outstanding achievements in innovation, now in its 55th year.

Founded in 1998, GW Pharmaceuticals has successfully overcome significant hurdles to enable the development, manufacture and marketing of approved cannabis-based medicines such as Sativex, never distributed in France, and Epidiolex, only available under ATU in France.

Most of its 1,100 staff are employed in the UK. Over the years, the company has invested over £1.3 billion in the research, development and infrastructure needed to bring innovative medicines to patients.

Dr Geoffrey Guy, Founder and President, has declared «We are honored to receive such a prestigious award for British business. When Dr Brian Whittle and I founded GW 23 years ago, our mission was to improve the lives of seriously ill patients by unlocking the potential of the cannabis plant through rigorous scientific research and extensive clinical trials to gain regulatory approval for these medicines to benefit patients. Today, I would like to thank every employee, clinician, researcher, patient and caregiver who has contributed to advancing and achieving this mission.»

Earlier this year, Irish company Jazz Pharmaceuticals acquired GW Pharmaceuticals for €6 billion.