Revive Therapeutics announces positive results in pre-clinical study of psilocybin to treat mild traumatic brain injury in mice

Revive Therapeutics Ltd (CSE:RVV) (OTCMKTS:RVVTF) has announced positive results of a pre-clinical study evaluating the efficacy of psilocybin in the treatment of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a rodent model. 

The company said the study was conducted at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), which was part of the psilocybin program acquired from PharmaTher Inc, a subsidiary of Newscope Capital Corporation (CSE:PHRM) (OTCQB:PHRRF).

Revive said the study characterized the potential neuroreparative effect of psilocybin compared to being treated with a vehicle (saline) using a TBI mouse model. 

READ: Revive Therapeutics to add more clinical trial sites for its Phase 3 trial of Bucillamine in coronavirus

Adult mice were randomly assigned to four groups — control, TBI+vehicle, TBI+low dose psilocybin, and high dose psilocybin. Cognitive function was examined by the Morris water maze test after the injury. 

Revive noted researchers found that psilocybin, given after injury, improved cognitive function in TBI mice. Also, there were no adverse effects observed with psilocybin.

In the meantime, with its recent acquisition of the provisional patent application from PharmaTher (Psilocybin in the Treatment of Neurological Brain Injury), and the positive research results with psilocybin in the TBI model, Revive said it has filed an international Patent Cooperation Treaty application allowing it to seek protection of this invention in 153 countries, including the US, Europe, Canada, Japan, and China.

In a statement, Revive CEO Michael Frank commented: “We are pleased with the results from our psilocybin research study in TBI as it strengthens our intellectual property portfolio for novel uses of psilocybin and it complements our robust psilocybin-based portfolio that includes the development of an oral thin film product in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a novel biosynthetic version of psilocybin based on a natural biosynthesis enzymatic platform developed by Dr Gavin Williams, Professor and Researcher at North Carolina State University, and a clinical study with the University of Wisconsin evaluating psilocybin in the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder. We are focused on advancing psilocybin to treat mild TBI, also commonly known as concussions.”

According to the CDC, there were about 2.87 million TBI-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations annually in the US. A TBI is mostly caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain.

Revive said that most TBIs that occur each year are mild, also referred to as concussions. According to Stanford Children’s Health, over 3.5 million sports-related injuries are reported annually among children in the US and around 21% of all are traumatic brain injuries. 

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Story by ProactiveInvestors