BetterLife Pharma (CSE: BETR) has conducted pre-clinical research on their lead drug, a non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analogue, which has shown to promote structural neural plasticity in an animal model along with anti-depressant effects.
The second-generation drug, BETR-001, is a non-hallucinogenic derivative of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). During the pre-clinical trial, treating cortical rat neurons with BETR-001 resulted in increased structural complexity of neurons, indicating neural plasticity activity.
According to BetterLife, the atrophy of brain neurons plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of depression and related disorders. Increased structural plasticity in brain neurons has been associated with sustained antidepressant effects.
BetterLife Pharma’s CEO, Ahmad Doroudian, expressed optimism about the study results of BETR-001. He highlighted that the drug retains the anti-depressant and neural plasticity activity of LSD without causing hallucinations.
BetterLife’s BETR-001 is currently undergoing pre-clinical and investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies to determine its pharmacological and toxicological properties. The company notes that BETR-001 is unique as it is unregulated and can be self-administered. BetterLife holds a synthesis patent for BETR-001 and has a pending patent covering its use in treating depression, cluster headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder, and similar conditions.
Additionally, BetterLife is conducting pre-clinical and IND-enabling studies on BETR-002, which is based on honokiol, a polyphenolic compound with neuroprotective properties. BETR-002 is expected to have potential in treating anxiety, pain, cerebrovascular injury, epilepsy, and cognitive disorders.
Furthermore, BetterLife is exploring strategic options for the development of a drug candidate for the treatment of viral infections.
