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Numinus Wellness says making good progress in its compassionate access study of psilocybin-assisted motivational enhancement therapy

Published: 10:18 02 Mar 2021 EST

Numinus Wellness Inc. -
The trial will look as the efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted motivational enhancement therapy

Numinus Wellness Inc (CVE:NUMI) told investors that it is making “significant progress” in its compassionate access trial of Psilocybin-Research Intervention with Motivational Enhancement (PRIME) for substance use disorders.

The trial, which is being run in conjunction with contract research organization Syreon Corporation, will look at the efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted motivational enhancement therapy.

Numinus said that it has finalized the study protocol after it went through two rounds of peer review by a leading psychedelic research foundation and appointed new experts to the study.

READ: Numinus Wellness's trial for MDMA-assisted therapy is in pre-implementation stage

The structure chosen for the protocol is in line with current international best practices for psilocybin-assisted treatment, Numinus said. Psilocybin will be administered in the context of a behavioural intervention consisting of motivational enhancement therapy, a structured counseling approach based on principles of motivational psychology and is designed to produce rapid, internally motivated change.

New experts appointed by Numinus to assist with the study include Lindsay Mackay, a clinician-scientist and addictions specialist who will be the study’s co-principal investigator alongside Elena Argento. Argento works collaboratively with the BC Centre on Substance Use to conduct and lead innovative research and interventions in response to the overdose crisis and is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of British Columbia.

"We have made important progress to develop the framework and a team of experts to conduct this compassionate access trial that will contribute meaningful insights to treatment methods for individuals with opioid, stimulant and/or alcohol use disorders," Evan Wood, chief medical officer at Numinus said in a statement.

The PRIME trial comes at a time when there is growing interest amongst the medical community and government in expanding access to psilocybin-assisted treatments. In Canada, Health Canada recently announced its intention to revise the Special Access Programme (SAP) to permit access to MDMA and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.

Paul Keown, CEO of Syreon, called substance-use disorders “among the most complex and challenging areas of modern healthcare.”

“Psilocybin is a promising new therapy for personalized care in this field, and Numinus and Syreon combine the deep medical knowledge and broad trial expertise required for expert research in this expanding area of natural bioactive therapeutics,” Keown said.

Numinus will continue establishing the physical, technical, and human resource infrastructure to support the Compassionate Access trial, with the aim of enabling wider delivery through the SAP, if approved.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas

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