PharmaDrug Inc has announced the appointment of Dr Cindy Hutnik to the company’s scientific and clinical advisory board.
PharmaDrug said Hutnik will assist the company in its ongoing efforts to develop N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and other related tryptamine analogues as a potential treatment for glaucoma.
“Dr Hutnik is a highly regarded, leader in the field of glaucoma, and she brings invaluable guidance and clinical trial experience having served as Principal Investigator on various clinical trials in the glaucoma space,” PharmaDrug CEO Daniel Cohen said in a statement.
Dr Hutnik, who is the current president of the Canadian Glaucoma Society, is also a full professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.
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The company also noted that, under an ongoing sponsored research agreement with Terasaki Institute of Biomedical Innovation, it has initiated in vitro studies to assess the impact (cytotoxicity, potency and duration of activity) of its two candidate molecules on specific cell types known to regulate pressure disequilibrium in the eyes of patients suffering from glaucoma.
The in vivo studies are expected to begin in the second quarter with a focus on evaluating tolerability and efficacy when applied as a topical eyedrop in animal models of glaucoma.
These studies will then be followed by the development and testing of a purpose-built medical device capable of delivering sustained, local, sub-psychotropic levels of the development candidate to patients afflicted with glaucoma.
PharmaDrug is focused on advancing the clinical development of an improved oral formulation of cepharanthine (PD-001) to treat rare cancers and COVID-19.
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