Envisioning A Cocaine-Addiction Treatment: This Next-Gen Psychedelic Shows Positive Results

Israel-based psychedelics biotech Clearmind Medicine Inc. CMND shared additional positive results on the impact of the MEAI molecule in the natural reward process in an in-vivo preclinical study of cocaine addiction.

“We are thrilled to continuously exhibit positive results of our proprietary drug candidate MEAI. The results of these latest in-vivo studies reinforce previous findings and demonstrate that MEAI may be an effective treatment addiction without negatively affecting natural reward," said CEO Dr. Adi Zuloff-Shani. “Cocaine is extremely addictive and there is currently no dedicated treatment. I believe Clearmind is leading the way in this field."

The research, led by Prof. Gal Yadid at Bar Ilan University was based on the prior finding that Clearmind's proprietary MEAI, at a dose of 5mg per kg, has the ability to decrease cocaine craving and potentially become the first exclusive cocaine addiction treatment.

Reward-based positive reinforcement is a shared evolutionary survival strategy across species, becoming maladaptive and endangering survival in the case of drug addictions. Therefore, the study’s aim was to conclude whether MEAI uses the same mechanisms that underlie the seeking of both drug and natural rewards, such as sucrose.

Results demonstrated that natural reward was maintained in the MEAI-treated rats, showing that the effect of MEAI on drug-seeking is not related to the general reward system.

“Very interesting results were revealed in this set of in-vivo studies. The empirical data show that MEAI is a potential treatment for cocaine addiction, in particular, and substance use disorders (SUD), in general. This observation is based on our experience and previous data from testing various treatments for SUD,” concluded Prof. Gal Yadid, adding that further studies are needed to better define the responding population.

Additionally, these results are linked to the ongoing collaboration between Clearmind and another specialty pharma company, SciSparc Ltd. SPRC. Both firms have partnered for a provisional patent application for the treatment of cocaine addiction with the combination of SciSparc’s CannAmide’s palmitoylethanolamide and Clearmind’s MEAI.

Photo: Benzinga edit