Mindset Pharma Inc (CSE:MSET, OTCQB:MSSTF) has developed a psilocin prodrug that may be just as effective at treating depression as psilocybin but better tolerated.
The company’s chief scientific officer, Joseph Araujo, recently presented findings at Neuroscience 2022, a conference hosted by the Society of Neuroscience, in a poster titled “The Preclinical Safety, Behavioural and Pharmacokinetics Properties of MSP-1014, a Novel Prodrug of Psilocin.”
MSP-1014, Mindet’s prodrug, was shown in mouse and rat pharmacokinetics studies to be rapidly and completely metabolized to psilocin, particularly when taken orally. A prodrug, when metabolized, works to improve how an active drug is absorbed in the body.
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The company also noted that a head twitch response from mice, which correlates with the intended 5-HT2A target engagement, was higher following subcutaneous administration of MSP-1014 compared to psilocybin at the same doses.
At doses of 3 milligrams per kilogram and 10 mg/kg, both locomotor activity and core body temperature were reduced following administration of psilocybin, but not MSP-1014, which suggests MSP-1014 may be better tolerated than psilocybin, the company said.
“These data indicate that MSP-1014 is a rapidly metabolized prodrug of psilocin and is likely to exert similar efficacy to psilocybin in improving symptoms of depression in difficult to treat patient populations,” Araujo said in a statement. “Moreover, the attenuation of reduced LMA and BT compared to psilocybin in mice suggests that tolerability of MSP-1014 may be superior to psilocybin and we look forward to evaluating MSP-1014 in patients in the near future.”
Mindset Pharma is a drug discovery company developing psychedelic and non-psychedelic medications to treat neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders with unmet medical needs.
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