Creso Pharma welcomes strong progress made by target acquisition Halucenex Life Sciences

Creso Pharma Ltd’s (ASX:CPH) (FRA:1X8) target acquisition Halucenex Life Sciences has secured an agreement with leading medical and recreational extraction specialists to expedite product development and study initiatives.

Halucenex has signed an agreement with Advanced Extraction Systems Inc (AESI) for the purchase of a custom-made CO2 Supercritical Extraction System to produce consistent, high-quality psychedelic extracts from psilocybin mushrooms.

The system will take around 6-8 weeks to design and install at Halucenex’s on-site laboratory in Canada, and cost about $70,000 to build.

Upon receipt of a Dealer’s License from Health Canada, Halucenex will apply for a license amendment to allow the production of botanical psychedelic extracts from psilocybin mushrooms.

This will be for use in future research and development of a range of different delivery methods including tinctures, lozenges, nasal sprays and capsules amongst others.

Halucenex anticipates the receipt of the dealer’s license imminently, with the license amendment expected to be received within 45 days after the grant of the dealer’s license.

First-mover advantage

Creso Pharma non-executive chairman Adam Blumenthal said: “It is very pleasing to see Halucenex make such significant progress in a short period.

“The agreement with AESI and subsequent fabrication of a leading extraction system will provide Creso and Halucenex with a first-mover advantage in terms of psychedelic product and delivery methods, which could, in turn, lead to a number of revenue-generating and treatment outcome opportunities.

“The company has a number of growth initiatives planned in the near-term across North America and Europe and we look forward to providing ongoing updates to shareholders.”

Strong competitive advantage

Concentrated psychedelic extracts are expected to provide Halucenex with a strong competitive advantage, limiting its reliance on third parties for in-demand supply of psilocybin, and will also allow it to research and develop unique delivery methods to unlock new opportunities and treatment pathways.

The design and fabrication of the system will provide a pivotal building block for future product development initiatives.

It also provides Halucenex with increased security over the future supply of psilocybin, reducing Halucenex’s reliance on third parties for in-demand supply, and allowing Halucenex better control over the timelines for research and product development.

AESI is based in Charlottetown, Canada, and specialises in the design, engineering and fabrication of supercritical fluid CO2 extraction systems with a specific focus on the medical and recreational cannabis and hemp industries.

Future projects

Subject to the receipt of its Dealers License, and subsequent license amendment, Halucenex will use the supercritical extraction system to breakdown the various psychedelic compounds of botanical psilocybin for future product development.

It will also explore the efficacy of extracted distillates or concentrates in various delivery mechanisms to explore faster compound onset, more effective dosing which can lead to a better patient experience and more positive treatment outcomes.

The accumulation of intellectual property and understanding of various psychedelic compounds in this under-researched, but growing space is critical for de-risking the path to commercialisation.

Understanding the various psychedelic compounds which can be extracted from psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms also paves the way for patenting both the compound and how it is used to deliver desired patient outcomes.

Halucenex also seeks to produce a GMP certified naturally extracted product for use in future clinical trials, subject to approval by Health Canada to provide safe, evidence-based psilocybin-assisted psychotherapies and optimise psilocybe mushrooms to standardise extracts increasing efficacy.

“Agreement is a major development”

Halucenex founder & CEO Bill Fleming said: “This agreement with AESI is a major development for a number of reasons.

“Firstly, the ability to extract psychedelic compound concentrates will allow us to progress the development of a number of delivery methods with broad applicability, including capsules, sprays, tinctures and lozenges amongst others, which may result in a higher standard of treatment.”

“Additionally, the extracted product will allow us to analyse, characterise and compare the major components in various psilocybe mushroom strains through our established laboratory setting, leading to initial research and the potential entourage effects of psychedelic compounds.

“Further, we anticipate that considerable future research will be undertaken between synthetic and botanical psilocybin to fully understand the benefits it can offer.

“Having the extraction system in place and the ability to produce solvent-free distillate in-house will be key for future comparative bioactivity studies.”

Story by ProactiveInvestors