Membership of French Committee on Medical Cannabis Announced | Pierre-Yves Galléty

The French Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products Safety (ANSM) very recently published the list of the members who will make up the Special Committee charged with the review of medical cannabis benefits in France.

As first announced in early September, the committee’s goals are to review the evidence supporting the effectiveness of medical cannabis to treat certain medical conditions and to review different policies on how to provide access to medical cannabis.

The committee, is due to last one year from the appointment of its members, so we can expect the full review by October 2019. Its membership comprises almost entirely medical professionals, with specialists in HIV, oncology and neurology, some of the most common areas that medical cannabis is prescribed for in other jurisdictions.

The one member who is not a medical professional is Catherine Sebire, a representative of the Association Francophone pour Vaincre les Douleurs (AFVD), a patients’ association for those with chronic pain. Dr. Pascal Douek, the President of DBB Health Paris, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2012, will also serve as a representative of the patient perspective.

Most members come from the public sphere and a few come from professional medical associations, like the Association Française des Soins Oncologiques de Support (AFSOS), an association for supportive care in oncology.

In addition to announcing the creation of the Special Committee, the Director of the ANSM said in his initial statement that he expected their first conclusions by the end of 2018.

Pierre-Yves Galléty leads on Hanway Associates’ French projects. For insights and advisory on developments in French please contact us or sign up to our newsletter below.