Champignon Brands Inc (CSE:SHRM) (OTCQB:SHRMF) will begin offering esketamine for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults at its flagship clinic in September, the company announced Thursday.
The company’s clinic, the Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence (CRTCE) in Mississauga, Ontario, will be the first multidisciplinary community clinic offering rapid-onset treatments for depression in Canada, Champignon said.
In May, Health Canada approved esketamine — an altered form of ketamine — for the treatment of MDD.
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“The availability of esketamine at the CRTCE provides tremendous opportunity for adults across Canada affected by treatment-resistant depression to receive an effective, well-tolerated treatment,” CEO Roger McIntyre said in a statement. “Moreover, this novel treatment works relatively faster than most conventional treatments for depression.”
Depression is a leading cause of reduced income in Canada, the company noted, because workplace disability adults with MDD lose nearly one month of work a year. Additionally, depression can worsen the course of heart disease, diabetes or other chronic conditions and increase the risk of death.
“Esketamine has also been observed to help people with MDD when conventional treatments have been insufficient. This provides hope for people affected by MDD to have their symptoms improved and begin to function better again in their lives.”
Champignon also announced the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has revoked the cease trade order issued against the company on June 19. The reversal came after the company filed acquisition reports regarding its acquisitions of Artisan Growers Ltd, Novo Formulations Ltd and Tassili Life Sciences Corp.
The company said it will continue to work with the BCSC to complete its continuous disclosure review in a timely fashion. The review covers its disclosure obligations since it became a reporting issuer in February.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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