GW Pharmaceuticals is hoping to develop a treatment for cancer after announcing promising results from an early stage study looking at how its cannabis-based molecules can help patients with the disease.

The trial tested how safe and effective two of GW's cannabis-derived molecules were in 21 patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive type of brain tumour.

The results showed that patients treated with GW's drug, in combination with temozolomide, which is the current medication used to treat GBM, had an 83pc one-year survival rate, compared with 53pc for patients in the placebo cohort.

The combination therapy increased median survival to more than 550 days, compared with 369 days for those on the placebo.