Canada's
first legal extraction by a public company is a landmark moment for
the global psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies landscape
VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - Numinus Wellness
Inc. ("Numinus" or the "Company") (TSXV: NUMI), a company
creating an ecosystem of solutions centred on the research,
development, and delivery of safe, evidence-based, accessible
psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, has completed the first legal
extraction of Psilocybe mushrooms in Canada by a public company for research and
development purposes. This follows Numinus' successful completion
of the cultivation and harvest of the first legal flush of
Psilocybe mushrooms at Numinus Bioscience, the Company's
7,000 square foot analytics and research laboratory.
"Completing the first legal extraction of Psilocybe
mushrooms in Canada is a critical
next step to providing a natural product for safe, evidence-based
psilocybin-assisted psychotherapies to those in need," said
Payton Nyquvest, CEO, Founder, and
Chairman. "Numinus continues to be a vanguard of positive change
for the industry, and this announcement demonstrates our ability to
deliver yet another first."
Numinus Bioscience is establishing itself at the forefront of
analytical testing for psychedelic substances, as a centre of
excellence for psychedelic product research and development, and as
an ancillary for psychedelic therapy clinical trials. Health
Canada licences, scientific
expertise, and state-of-the-art technologies facilitate ongoing
innovation, while revenue from high-throughput contract cannabis
testing is reinvested to further its psychedelic initiatives.
"This is an important milestone in our comprehensive research
strategy, following our successful harvest announced in October,"
said Sharan Sidhu, Science Officer
and General Manager. "In the extraction process, Numinus
Bioscience's goal is to optimize Psilocybe mushrooms to
standardize psilocybin and multiple therapeutically important
components, increasing the efficacy of the extract. To further our
position as a centre of excellence in the space, we are in the
process of submitting amendments to supply the extract for use in
clinical trials and the Special Access Programme, which, when
accepted, will mark a significant move forward in scaling the
delivery of psychedelic-assisted therapies."
"While direct comparisons cannot be made, there is a clear
recognition in the cannabis space that synthetic cannabinoids are
far less attractive than naturally occurring cannabinoids,"
indicated Dr. Evan Wood, Numinus'
Chief Medical Officer. "Numinus is of the view that, ultimately,
nature knows best, and we're excited to be at the forefront of
exploring the fascinating world of working with Psilocybe
mushrooms as part of a focused drug development program."
This announcement follows Numinus' advocacy work that
contributed to Health Canada's groundbreaking announcement of
its intention to revise the Special Access Programme (SAP) to
permit access to MDMA and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in the
same way other investigational medications are accessed in
Canada. In addition, earlier this
week Numimius announced the exciting acquisition of Montreal -based Mindspace Psychology Services
Inc (DBA Mindspace Wellbeing) bringing together the
capabilities of two leading Canadian organizations to develop and
scale delivery of evidence-based psychedelic-assisted
psychotherapy.
Health Canada's Notice of
Intent regarding the SAP will be open for public consultation and
comments for the next 60 days, and Numinus strongly encourages the
community to weigh in on the benefits of the revision. View the
notice here:
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2020/2020-12-12/html/notice-avis-eng.html#nb2.
To share comments and thoughts related to the SAP, please email
hc.csd.regulatory.policy-politique.reglementaire.dsc.sc@canada.ca.
About Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has gained a great deal of
interest within the medical community and general public as
research results demonstrate its superior effectiveness for a
range of mental health conditions. These results are contributing
to a paradigm shift in both the understanding and treatment of
mental health conditions.
Numinus has announced plans to embark upon open-label
compassionate access clinical trials of psilocybin-assisted
psychotherapy for substance use disorders and MDMA-assisted
psychotherapy for PTSD, enabling it to implement, test and refine
optimal protocols for delivery before these therapies are widely
accessible. This includes developing physical and human resource
infrastructure more broadly to deliver psychedelic-assisted
psychotherapy including for Special Access Programme patients.
Numinus is uniquely positioned to provide patients with MDMA and
psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy under the expanded SAP revision
based on its international partnerships and extensive work
completed on developing safe and evidence-based protocols for
psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. The Company is also a leader in
the industry as the first public entity in Canada to receive a licence to produce and
extract psilocybin from mushrooms, the first to complete a legal
harvest of psilocybe mushrooms using this licence and the holder of
a Health Canada dealer's licence to import, export, possess, test
and distribute MDMA, psilocybin and other psychedelics.
Applications for Numinus's compassionate access trials and for
access under the SAP, pending approval, are not yet open. To be
advised of the status and procedures for applications when
available, register for Numinus's newsletter.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF NUMINUS WELLNESS INC.
Payton Nyquvest
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chair
About Numinus
Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV: NUMI) is a
mental health and wellness company creating an ecosystem of
solutions centred around safe, evidence-based, accessible
psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to help people heal and be
well.
Numinus Health is dedicated to delivering innovative
treatments to address physical, mental, and emotional health,
through clinics and virtual services.
Numinus R&D is conducting implementation science
and leveraging partnerships to beta-test and refine optimal models
of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy delivery, setting the stage
for approved routine use in mental health and wellness care.
Numinus Bioscience is focused on developing testing
methods and effective formulas for the evolving psychedelics space.
Health Canada licences, scientific
expertise, and new technologies facilitate ongoing innovation, and
high-throughput contract services generate established revenue.
Learn more at numinus.ca, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram.
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SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.