Lobe Sciences Ltd (CSE:LOBE, OTCQB:LOBEF) said a Phase 1 study has shown the company’s proprietary stabilized psilocin conjugate drug candidate L-130 offers significant therapeutic advantages over its inactive prodrug psilocybin due to its increased bioavailability.
Psilocybin is not biologically active in humans and must undergo the process of dephosphorylation in the gut to be converted into psilocin.
The study showed that the time to achieve maximum plasma concentration was lower for L-130 as it removed the first-pass metabolism and was immediately absorbed in the gut, the company said.
“L-130 was designed based on the need for a shelf-stable oral molecule that can cleanly and consistently deliver psilocin directly, therefore eliminating the inconsistencies we see with the variability of psilocybin due to its need for first-pass metabolism,” Lobe Sciences CEO Philip Young said in a statement.
“These initial Phase 1 results with L-130 support the industry’s hypothesis regarding the improved characteristics from a pharmacological standpoint of a stabilized psilocin versus that of psilocybin.”
Full results from the Phase 1 study, an open-label clinical trial involving 10 healthy individuals, are expected to be published in peer-reviewed journals in the first half of 2024, the company said.
“We look forward to completing the remaining planned Phase 1 trials to further elucidate the dosing regimen and initiate our Phase 2 study in chronic cluster headache in 2024,” CEO Young said.
Shares of the company were higher on the development, adding 10.1% late morning on Thursday.
Lobe Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative medicines to treat rare diseases.
- Updated with share price movement -
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