Nova Mentis Is Looking To Treat Autism With Psilocybin

Nova Mentis Life Science Corp. NMLSF and the private college Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology have signed a contract for the production of psilocybin capsules. The company will supply the microdose capsules for a Phase 2A fragile X syndrome (FXS) clinical study.

FXS, also known as Martin-Bell syndrome, is one of the largest genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders.

“The recently completed preclinical study of repeat low doses of our psilocybin drug—every other day for 2 weeks—showed clinical responses that greatly exceeded our expectations. We significantly modulated behavioral and cognitive defects, such as recognition memory, in FXS,” commented Marvin S. Hausman, MD, chairman of Nova's scientific advisory board.

According to the company, a clinical trial application to Health Canada is expected for submission in the following weeks.

Almost two months ago, the Nova Mentis team announced that they encountered positive results in a preclinical study in Rome, Italy. In March, they announced that enrollment for the study in North America had commenced.

The company is showing great interest in developing a viable way of reducing the negative effects of FXS. Only time will tell if future clinical trials meet the same (or greater) kind of success that preclinical studies found.

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