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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 1, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: AGN) (FRANKFURT: AGW) (OTCQB: AGNPF) (the “Company” or “Algernon”), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical development company Announces that it has awarded the contract for its Phase 1 stroke program study of AP-188 (“N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT”) to the prestigious Contract Research Organization (“CRO”) Hammersmith Medicines Research Ltd (“HMR”) Has. ) is located in London, UK.
HMR is an internationally respected and fully featured CRO with an industry leading pharmacy, an on-site laboratory and close clinical relationships with Central Middlesex Hospital. You also have direct experience of administering psychedelics. Since 1993, HMR has conducted more than 850 studies and worked for most of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Algernon’s Phase 1 study will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of the Company’s proposed sub-psychedelic doses of DMT in healthy subjects with no history of psychedelic exposure. The pharmacological baseline study is expected to begin once the company receives cGMP drugs from its recently appointed drug maker Dalton Pharma. Although small clinical trials of DMT have been conducted in the past, Algernon plans to be the first in the world to test the use of a prolonged intravenous infusion of DMT in sub-psychedelic doses in humans for potential stroke treatment applications. The Phase 1 trial will provide key data on the Company’s proposed dosing regimen and will also influence the design of the Company’s planned Phase 2 trials in stroke patients.
“We are very pleased to have selected HMR for our Phase 1 DMT study,” said Christopher J. Moreau, CEO of Algernon Pharmaceuticals. “There are very few research facilities in the world that are fully accredited and have the appropriate license, approval and experience to work with DMT. Our goal with our current aggressive clinical plan is to participate in a Phase 2 study in the first quarter of 2022. As a company, we are committed to studying DMT to see if it can help stroke patients as quickly and safely as possible. “
DMT background
N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug that produces effects similar to other psychedelics like LSD, ketamine, psilocybin, and psilocin. DMT occurs naturally in many species of plants and animals and has been used in religious ceremonies by indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin as a traditional spiritual medicine. DMT can also be synthesized in a laboratory.
At higher doses, DMT has a rapid onset, intense psychedelic effects, and a relatively short duration of action with an estimated half-life of less than fifteen minutes. Like other hallucinogens in the tryptamine family, DMT binds to serotonin receptors to produce euphoria and psychedelic effects. Since the effects of DMT do not last very long, it has been referred to in some circles as a “business man’s trip”.
DMT was developed by Dr. Rick Strassman, an American professor of psychiatry and pioneer of DMT research, referred to as “Spirit Molecule”. A number of important preclinical studies have shown that DMT induces neuroplasticity. DMT is thought to activate pathways involved in the formation of neuron connections and has been shown in studies to increase the number of dendritic spines on cortical neurons. Dendritic spines form synapses (connections) with other neurons and are a major site of molecular activity in the brain.
While Dr. Strassman’s Phase 1 intravenous bolus study in humans identified the subhallucinogenic dose of DMT in humans, another preclinical animal study showed that the same dose retained the neuroplastic effect seen at higher hallucinogenic doses.
Algernon will investigate an intravenous subhallucinogenic dose of DMT in its research and clinical studies.
Via Hammersmith Medicines Research
Our unparalleled experience – over 850 studies since 1993 – makes us the early stage unit of choice for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Sponsors come to us with large, complex, and demanding trials that are beyond the capacity of smaller CROs. But all of our attempts, large or small, receive the same scrupulous attention. Our clinical team has an exceptional reputation for delivering high quality results on time. You have access to experienced doctors and clinical project managers who are closely involved in all aspects of your studies. https://www.hmrlondon.com
About Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Algernon is a drug reuse company researching safe, already approved drugs, including naturally occurring compounds, for new disease uses, efficiently and safely introducing them to new human studies, developing new formulations, and obtaining new regulatory approvals in world markets. Algernon is specifically researching compounds that have never been approved in the US or Europe to avoid writing off-label prescriptions.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Christopher J. Moreau
Chairman
Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
604.398.4175 ext 701
info@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
investoren@algernonpharmaceuticals.com
www.algernonpharmaceuticals.com
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