Mindset Pharma Identifies New Pharmacological Insights of First Generation Psychedelics Through its COPE Program with InterVivo Solutions

TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mindset Pharma Inc. (CSE: MSET) (FSE: 9DF) (OTCQB: MSSTF) (“Mindset” or the “Company”), a drug discovery and development company focused on creating optimized and patentable next-generation psychedelic medicines to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders with unmet medical needs, today announced that, under its Co-operative Psychedelics Evaluation Platform (“COPE”) program with InterVivo Solutions Inc. (“InterVivo”), the Company has identified new pharmacological insights related to the mechanisms of action and bioavailability of 5-MeO-DMT and other first generation psychedelics. Specifically, Mindset has further developed standard pharmacokinetics and drug discrimination data and protocols across LSD, psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT, and now psilocin.

Comparisons of psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT benchmarking data have revealed potential differences in the mechanism of action related to the hallucinogenic experience of 5-MeO-DMT versus psilocybin. Furthermore, data suggests that the oral bioavailability of 5-MeO-DMT increases at higher doses in rodents.

“In rodent drug discrimination studies, 5-HT2A antagonists completely block the ability of rats to perceive psilocybin, whereas the same antagonists do not completely block the effects of 5-MeO-DMT, suggesting that the perceptual experience of 5-MeO-DMT is due not only to 5-HT2A receptor agonism,” said Joseph Araujo, Chief Scientific Officer of Mindset. “Pharmacokinetics studies also show 5-MeO-DMT is not orally bioavailable at low doses, but at higher doses, 5-MeO-DMT is bioavailable and its half-life is prolonged, indicating that its metabolism is saturable. This exemplifies the importance of studying a range of doses of psychedelics for benchmarking purposes.”

“Mindset is developing a spectrum of differentiated, next-generation medical psychedelics with the goal of improving several factors compared to first-generation psychedelic drugs,” said James Lanthier, CEO of Mindset. “Thanks to this detailed benchmarking data, we’re better positioned to pre-clinically evaluate and assess drug candidates, which are essential towards reaching our treatment goals.”

The COPE Program is a translational testing platform developed in cooperation with InterVivo to introduce an industry standard against which the performance and efficacy of breakthrough psychedelic medicines are compared and assessed. Through this platform, Mindset and InterVivo intend to establish the first comprehensive psychedelics benchmark reference data set by evaluating a broad range of psychedelic drugs through a proprietary program of in vivo tests conducted at InterVivo’s facility. The COPE platform is anticipated to represent an invaluable tool to guide the development of next-generation psychedelic compounds and improve patentability and value of new potential drug assets.

To watch a video of Mindset’s CEO discussing the announcement in greater detail, please visit: https://youtu.be/kS6Rc0BhIK4

About InterVivo Solutions Inc.
InterVivo Solutions is Canada’s top neuroscience contract research organization, offering translational research services with a focus on next-generation neuroscience drug discovery. InterVivo and its sister company, Transpharmation, offer a wide range of contract services that are focused on discovery and development of neurological and neuropsychiatric new chemical entities including in vivo proof of concept, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics and early safety research studies for a global client base.

www.intervivo.com / www.transpharmation.co.uk      

About Mindset Pharma Inc.

Mindset Pharma Inc. is a drug discovery and development company focused on creating optimized and patentable next-generation psychedelic medicines to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders with unmet needs. Mindset was established in order to develop next-generation pharmaceutical assets that leverage the breakthrough therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs. Mindset is developing several novel families of next-generation psychedelic compounds, as well as an innovative process to chemically synthesize psilocybin in addition to its own proprietary compounds. The company has a co-development agreement with the McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development, a member of the Otsuka Pharmaceuticals family of companies, for its short-duration compounds, Mindset Families 2 & 4.

For further information on Mindset, please visit our website at www.mindsetpharma.com.

For more information, please contact:

Investor Contact:
Allison Soss/Tim Regan
KCSA Strategic Communications
Email: MindSet@kcsa.com
Phone: 212-896-1267/ 347-487-6788
​​
Media Contact:
McKenna Miller
KCSA Strategic Communications
Email: MindSet@kcsa.com
Phone: 949-606-6585

Company Contact:
James Lanthier, CEO
Email: jlanthier@mindsetpharma.com

Jason Atkinson, VP, Corporate Development
Email: jatkinson@mindsetpharma.com
Phone: 416-479-4094

Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “potential”, “proposed” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties relating to the Company’s business are contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form for the financial year ended June 30, 2020 dated March 5, 2021. The forward-looking information included in this news release is made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

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