Exclusive: GW Pharmaceuticals hires investment bank following approaches - sources

(Reuters) - GW Pharmaceuticals Plc , a British developer of marijuana-based pain killers, is working with an investment bank after other drug makers approached it to express interest in an acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move shows how the Salisbury, England-based company is emerging as a coveted target for larger pharmaceutical companies thanks to its key drug, Epidolex, which uses cannabis-based compounds to treat epilepsy.

GW has hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help handle the overtures, the people said this week. The company is not currently interested in exploring a sale, and there is no certainty that any deal will occur, the people added.

 

The identity of the potential suitors could not be established. The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. GW declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Ben Hirschler in London; Editing by Andrew Hay)