Cost analysis of cannabis on the NHS to launch next month

A new project, designed to show how cannabis would be cost-effective on the NHS, is due to get underway next month.

Experts at York Health Economics Consortium are to develop a flexible health economics analysis tool to evaluate the feasibility of prescribing cannabis on the NHS. 

The research will include a financial comparison of cannabis and other treatments for tackling chronic pain, alongside a consideration of cost and outcomes over a one-year time period.

The project, which is being supported by the Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) and Drug Science, is due to start next month after securing funding from a range of backers.  

The tool will consider the costs, resource use and utility of medicinal cannabis and will assess the viability of prescribing cannabis on the NHS under different scientific assumptions. Chair of the CIC, Professor Mike Barnes, has previously said he believes cannabis could be made available on the NHS at a ‘net-zero’ cost. 

Glass Pharms, Ethypharm and Rua Bioscience have provided financial support, while additional funding was secured via an industry crowdfunder, held in late 2022.

The project was hoping to raise £18,000-20,000, of which over 50% has been secured, Cannabis Health understands.

James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms, commented: “A recent study published in the US has shown chronic pain patients using medical cannabis were able to reduce their use of other pain medications by more than 50%. If the NHS was to offer this in the UK, we could see benefits both for patients and potential cost savings for healthcare.

“We are supporting this health economics analysis to help provide the data needed for the NHS to make an informed decision on this.”

Drug Science will also make T21 project data available to the researchers.

“Many patients are successfully using cannabis-based medicinal products to treat chronic pain. Unfortunately, in the UK, medical cannabis is not currently available through the NHS to treat this condition, meaning that patients face significant costs to access the medicine via private healthcare,” said Anne Katrin Schlag, head of research at Drug Science.

“Drug Science is excited that our health economics analysis is going ahead as, for any future NHS approval, it is important to find out whether medical cannabis will be cost-effective when compared to other treatments currently available.”

The project is anticipated to be completed within the first half of 2023.

Mike Morgan-Giles, CEO of the Cannabis Industry Council, added: “Providing the NHS with the economic case for expanding cannabis prescriptions is critical if we are to help patients obtain the medicine they need to treat their conditions.

“The Cannabis Industry Council is therefore delighted that the project can now kick off, and we are grateful to Glass Pharms, Ethypharm, Rua Bioscience, and other funders for their support.”

• Have experts found a more cost-effective way to cultivate medicinal cannabis?
• UK’s first certified mushroom supplements – what are the benefits?
• New CBD candidate said to boost bioavailability, expanding therapeutic potential
• Study hopes to show cannabis would be ‘cost-effective’ on NHS
• Crowdfunder launched for key study into cost-benefits of cannabis on NHS