BetterLife Pharma Inc (CSE:BETR, OTCQB:BETRF) announced it had confirmed the bioavailability of its lead compound BETR-001 in the brain tissue and plasma of treated mice.
BETR-001 is a non-hallucinogenic derivative of psychedelic drug LSD that BetterLife is developing to treat neuro-psychiatric and neurological disorders.
The Vancouver-based company said it had previously confirmed the non-hallucinogenic property of BETR-001 in the head-twitch-response assay in mice, and is currently trying to confirm that lack of hallucinogenic property of BETR-001 is not due to its poor bioavailability – especially in the target brain tissue.
READ: BetterLife Pharma says LSD analog BETR-001 promotes structural neural plasticity in preclinical model
This latest set of in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) data established a bioanalytical method to measure 2-bromo-LSD in mouse plasma and brain tissues.
According to BetterLife, BETR-001 appeared around 10 minutes post-dose in the plasma and brain of mice following a single dose and remained detectable up to eight hours post dose.
What’s more, plasma and brain exposure of BETR-001 increased in a time- and dose-dependent manner, the company said.
The mean terminal half-life of BETR-001 in plasma was not significantly different among all dosing groups or between different sexes, BetterLife added.
CEO Ahmad Doroudian told investors that the results demonstrate a favourable PK profile to support IND and future clinical programs to treat major depressive disorder and cluster headache patients.
“Although 2-bromo-LSD has been tested in rodents and human studies in the past, this is the first study to characterize the brain and plasma PK profile,” Doroudian said in a statement.
“These results provide strong evidence that BETR-001, manufactured by our patented synthesis and formulation process can reach the target organ (brain) and achieve the desired therapeutic range.”
BETR-001's IND enabling non-clinical package is currently “under preparation,” the CEO added.
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