The ongoing pandemic has inflamed and highlighted a separate but very connected public health crisis that has been growing all around the world for decades. Rates of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress have been steadily climbing for years, and the pandemic has made things worse by increasing stress and anxiety, severing social supports, and tying up healthcare resources. This mental health environment has highlighted the need for new, innovative, and often underexplored treatments and therapies. Companies like Pure Extracts (CSE:PULL) (OTC:PRXTF) (XFRA: A2QJAJ), Revive Therapeutics (CSE:RVV) (OTCPK:RVVTF), Tryp Therapeutics (CSE:TRYP) (OTCPK:TRYPF), Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO) (OTC:MYCOF), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are working to move these treatments forwards in hopes of one day ending the mental health crisis.
Pure Extracts Advances Psychedelic Research and Development
Canadian extraction company Pure Extracts (CSE:PULL) (OTC:PRXTF) (XFRA: A2QJAJ) uses cutting-edge CO² and ethanol extraction and production to create highly accurate doses that the Company believes will accelerate the production of commercial psilocybin products. The Company has built out an EU-GMP compliant extraction lab just north of Whistler, British Columbia, and is currently preparing its application for a Health Canada Dealer’s Licence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which will allow the company to produce, distribute, and sell psilocybin products.
Pure Extracts is helping to advance one of the most promising forms of experimental therapy today in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. Therapy involving psychedelics used under medical supervision in a safe, clinical environment has gained significant traction in recent years because it has shown effectiveness in situations where conventional therapies and medications have failed. This treatment has shown promise for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and end-of-life anxiety for patients with terminal illnesses. Companies like Pure Extracts are working to develop substances like psilocybin into precisely dosed and reliable extracted products suitable for clinical use.
On December 30, Pure Extracts announced that it would be partnering with the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology (TIPT) for a study on the formulation and manufacturing of psilocybin-based active treatments for oral tablets, capsules, and a nasal gel. The study will be conducted by Pure Extracts scientific advisor Dr. Alexander MacGregor, and will focus on formulating, manufacturing, and clinical bioavailability testing for rapid onset psilocybin dosage forms. Data from this study will be invaluable for clinical trials by both Pure Extracts and its pharmaceutical customers. Dr. MacGregor is a leading expert in pharmaceutical technology and novel drug delivery systems and has received several global patents in the field of medical treatments and pharmaceutical drug delivery technologies.
“Having the support of TIPT, one of Canada’s premiere pharmaceutical R&D companies, while waiting to receive our Dealer’s License from Health Canada is invaluable,” Pure Extracts CEO Ben Nikolaevsky said in the Company’s release. “We are very excited to be laying the groundwork for our move into the controlled substances world of psychedelics and to be furthering our knowledge-base in psilocybin and associated novel delivery mechanisms.”
Development in Innovative Mental Health Treatments
Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO) (OTC:MYCOF) has been a leading innovator in the development of psychedelic treatments, developing the first psychedelic-focused telehealth platform among numerous consumer and clinical-grade psilocybin-infused products. On January 28, the company announced that it is sponsoring a study on neuron level response to psilocybin at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Jaylyn Waddell, the study aims to gain an understanding of the “heightened plasticity that permits the therapeutic response to psilocybin in order to obtain a better understanding of when, where and how psilocybin is most appropriate for use in human therapeutics.”
In 2020, Revive Therapeutics (CSE:RVV) (OTCPK:RVVTF) engaged in a research partnership agreement with Reed Research Group out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on an oral thin-film psilocybin delivery system. In November, Revive announced that after several months of prototyping on a wide range of dosage forms, the company had completed development of the product with psilocybin dosage forms ranging between 1 mg and 20 mg.
In early February, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Tryp Therapeutics (CSE:TRYP) (OTCPK:TRYPF) announced that the company had brought on renowned psychedelic scientist, Dr. Robin Carhart Harris, to help lead the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Tryp is currently running a program examining psilocybin for neuropsychiatric disorders and developing a synthetic form of psilocybin for clinical use.
Multinational pharmaceutical and CPGs giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) received approval from the FDA in 2019 for Spravato, a ketamine-derived nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression. The approval marked the first materially new treatment for depression to hit the market in decades.
Research and development into innovative mental health treatment is more important now than ever, and companies like Pure Extracts are helping advance the future of mental health at a time when new solutions are desperately needed.
To find out more about Pure Extracts, click here.
Featured image: DepositPhotos © kritiya
