First marijuana- derived prescription drug will cost $32,500 a year

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A new marijuana-derived drug to treat rare forms of severe epilepsy in children will cost about $32,500 per patient, per year. Epidiolex, the first cannabis pharmaceutical to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, contains the active ingredient cannabidiol (CBD). It does not contain psychoactive molecule THC, which generates the high for which marijuana is best known.

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CBD remains a Schedule 1 drug according to the federal government, which means it has no recognized medical use. Before Epidiolex can be prescribed, the FDA must reschedule CBD.

"We expect to make Epidiolex available to U.S. patients this fall, following rescheduling, which is expected to occur within 90 days of FDA approval," said GW Pharmaceuticals' CEO Justin Gover. "We have been building commercial inventory in recent months and are in a position to ship product into the U.S. supply chain, once rescheduling is complete."

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The retail price of the drug is high, but GW said costs were in line with other brand-name antiepileptic drugs used to treat the same intractable conditions. With insurance, out-of-pocket costs per month could range from $5 to $200 a month, GW executives said.

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