The medical marijuana field saw a landmark U.S. regulatory approval for two rare childhood epilepsy conditions in 2018, but a year later, investors and scientists continue to harbor doubts about cannabis-based medicines — especially when used to treat children.

Concerns primarily surround tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. But worries have also shifted to nonpsychoactive cannabidiol. Purified CBD is the basis of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC's Epidiolex for treatment-resistant inherited epilepsies, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2018.

Cannabis remains a Schedule I substance, the most stringent drug classification, meaning it poses a risk of abuse and has no acceptable medical use. Epidiolex, though, which contains no THC, was reclassified in the lowest restriction classification, Schedule V.

The U.S. Surgeon General in August issued a warning against cannabis use in adolescents and pregnant women, specifically highlighting THC's potentially harmful effects on brain development.

Epilepsy patient advocates and others have sought to broaden access to cannabis and its plant-derived constituents, called cannabinoids, whether that entails descheduling the substance, legalizing it or simply making it available to patients.

"There's so much misinformation out there," said Catherine Jacobson, vice president of regulatory and medical affairs at medical cannabis company Tilray Inc.

Investors doubt cannabis-based epilepsy drugs for children 1 year after approval

Chart of the week

DaVita, Regeneron lead S&P 500 healthcare companies that gained 5% in November

Must read

Novartis' Alzheimer's research pivots toward neuro-inflammation, APOE gene

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant pivoted its early research in Alzheimer's disease toward neuro-inflammation and the APOE gene after the failure of a compound co-developed with Amgen Inc.

US health spending grew faster in 2018, driven by medical, insurance costs

U.S. healthcare spending grew 4.6% in 2018, faster than a year earlier — an outcome driven largely by increases in medical prices and the costs for private health insurance and Medicare.

Hospital groups challenge Trump's price transparency rule in federal court

Nearly three weeks after vowing to challenge the Trump administration's price transparency rule, a collection of hospital groups filed a lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit claims the administration does not have the authority to enforce the rule.

Pelosi drug pricing bill heads for House vote next week amid industry pushback

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Democratic leaders are ready to take her drug pricing bill to the chamber floor for a vote next week, although the industry is pushing back hard on the measure.

US to offer HIV prevention drugs for free as CDC says not enough have access

Health officials said too few Americans are getting access to medicines that could prevent transmission of the HIV infection, and the government launched a new program to provide the drugs from Gilead Sciences Inc. free to people without insurance.

In other news

Biogen touts Alzheimer's drug data, but ducks analysts' key regulatory questions

Biogen Inc. clarified some analyst questions and avoided others entirely during a call following its highly anticipated data presentation on its contentious Alzheimer's disease drug candidate, aducanumab, to be filed to regulators in 2020.

Biogen: Diverging results in landmark Alzheimer's trials due to protocol change

At an annual Alzheimer's conference, Biogen explained away intensely questioned data differences in two identical phase 3 trials for its disease-modifying Alzheimer's drug, aducanumab, and emphasized that the trials are, overall, positive.

Home health agencies plan to expand services, telehealth offerings, survey finds

Home health agencies plan to expand their overall services over the next two years, and the number of agencies offering telehealth services will more than double as the U.S. population ages, according to an industry survey from Definitive Healthcare.

White House report on Pelosi drug-pricing bill flawed, health policy experts say

Health policy experts criticized a White House report that said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug-pricing legislation could lead to 100 fewer new medicines, cost the nation $10 trillion and reduce Americans' average life expectancy by four months.

Essential Healthcare is a weekly collection of critical developments across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare provider, healthcare technology and medical equipment industries that draws on exclusive analysis and value-added content from the Healthcare News team at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Subscribe now to get Essential Healthcare delivered to your inbox every week.