Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE:AGN, OTCQB:AGNPF) has announced that Dr Rick Strassman, author of the book 'DMT: The Spirit Molecule' and an Algernon consultant, will join the company's CEO Christopher J. Moreau for the Science Keynote Address at the Wonderland conference in Miami.
Algernon is the Headline Sponsor for the conference, a world-leading event in the psychedelic medicine industry, to be held from November 3-5, 2022 at the Mana Wynwood Convention Centre. The keynote address will review the positive pre-clinical science and data driving the company's pioneering Phase 1 clinical study of DMT for the treatment of stroke and will take place on November 5, 2022, at 2.00pm ET.
Separately, the company also announced that it has completed the manufacture of its intravenous formulation that will be used in the Phase 1 DMT study. The formulation was developed by the Centre for Human Drug Research and its affiliated pharmacy at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The company has received ethics and clinical trial approval for the Phase 1 DMT study and expects to begin screening patients for the study soon.
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Wonderland provides an opportunity to discover the world of psychedelic advancements and developments, along with some of the leading founders, investors, therapists, practitioners, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, and media from around the globe.
"Algernon is very fortunate to have Dr Rick Strassman as a key opinion leader on our DMT stroke research program," Moreau said in a statement.
"I look forward to having him join me for the Science Keynote Address in Miami and sharing some of his personal perspectives on DMT's potential as a new stroke treatment," he added.
Algernon has established a clinical research program for the treatment of stroke focused on AP-188 (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine or DMT), a known psychedelic compound that is part of the tryptamine family. Algernon plans to be the first company globally to investigate DMT as a possible treatment for stroke and is planning to begin a Phase 1 clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The company's decision to investigate DMT and move it into human trials for stroke is based on multiple independent, positive pre-clinical studies demonstrating that DMT helps promote neurogenesis, as well as structural and functional neural plasticity. These are key factors involved in the brain's ability to form and reorganize synaptic connections, which are needed for healing following a brain injury.
DMT is a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug producing effects similar to those of other psychedelics like LSD, ketamine, psilocybin and psilocin. DMT occurs naturally in many plant species and animals, including humans and has been used in religious ceremonies as a traditional spiritual medicine by indigenous people in the Amazonian basin. DMT can also be synthesised in a laboratory.
Algernon has filed provisional patents for new salt forms of DMT, in addition to formulation, dosage and method of use claims for ischemic stroke. The company has also filed claims for a combination therapy of DMT and stroke rehabilitation, including Constraint Induced Movement Therapy.
Algernon is a Canadian clinical-stage drug development company investigating multiple drugs with global unmet medical needs. It has active research programs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with chronic cough, chronic kidney disease, and a psychedelic program investigating a proprietary form of DMT for stroke.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com