BetterLife Lead Drug Promotes Structural Neural Plasticity with Possible Nootropic Effects Similar to That of LSD Without Hallucinogenic Side Effects

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR  OTCQB: BETRF FRA: NPAU ), is an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders.

A recent study, published in Experimental Neurology , has provided some new evidence that LSD has nootropic effects which are believed to be driven by neuroplasticity promotion. Researchers found that LSD increased neuroplasticity in ‘human brain organoids, increased novelty preference in rats, and improved memory performance in humans.' Increased structural plasticity in the brain neurons (mainly prefrontal cortex) has also been linked to the sustained antidepressant effects.

BetterLife's neuroplasticity study similarly demonstrated that, in the treatment of rat embryonic cortical neurons the Company's lead drug, BETR-001 (2-bromo-LSD) increases the structural complexity of neurons (dendrite growth and complexity) indicating the neural plasticity activity of BETR-001. In certain measurements of structural plasticity in neurons, BETR-001 performs better than ketamine in this model.

"These results confirm that our proprietary BETR-001, an LSD analog, retains the anti-depressant and neural plasticity activity of LSD without causing hallucination . The fact that BETR-001 can promote structural plasticity in the prefrontal cortex neurons indicates its therapeutic effects in depression and related disorders, providing a potential patient friendly treatment addressing a very large unmet medical need affecting large number of patients globally," said Ahmad Doroudian, CEO of BetterLife.

About BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife Pharma Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company primarily focused on developing and commercializing two compounds, BETR-001 and BETR-002, to treat neuro-psychiatric and neurological disorders.

BETR-001, which is in preclinical and IND-enabling studies, is a non-hallucinogenic and non-controlled LSD derivative in development and it is unique in that it is unregulated and, therefore, can be self-administered. BetterLife's synthesis patent for BETR-001 eliminates regulatory hurdles and its pending patent for composition and method of use covers treatment of depression, cluster headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder and other neuro-psychiatric and neurological disorders.

BETR-002, which is in preclinical and IND-enabling studies, is based on honokiol, the active anxiolytic ingredient of magnolia bark. BetterLife's pending method of use and formulations patent covers treatment of anxiety related disorders including benzodiazepine dependency.

BetterLife also owns a drug candidate for the treatment of viral infections such as COVID-19 and is in the process of seeking strategic alternatives for further development.

For further information, please visit BetterLife Pharma .

Contact Information

David Melles, Investor Relations Manager
Email: David.Melles@blifepharma.com
Phone: 1-778-887-1928

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

No securities exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to product development, licensing, commercialization and regulatory compliance issues and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the failure to satisfy the conditions of the relevant securities exchange(s) and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.


Primary Logo

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

BETR:CNX
The Conversation (0)
BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife's Non-hallucinogenic LSD For Treating Mood Disorders Highlighted in Drug Discovery & Development Article

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR  OTCQB: BETRF FRA: NPAU ), an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, is pleased to announce that, an article titled "Non-hallucinogenic LSD derivative reduces depression symptoms in preclinical studies," based on BetterLife's lead candidate BETR-001 (2-bromo-LSD) was published by Drug Discovery & Development on March 22, 2023.

The Drug Discovery & Development article describes and adds further comments to the positive data and extensive pharmacological characterization of BETR-001 which were published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Report s. These studies were performed by BetterLife in collaboration with several leading scientists in this field: Dr. Adam L. Halberstadt (University of California San Diego, USA), Dr. Argel Aguilar-Valles (Carleton University, Canada), and Dr. John D. McCorvy (Medical College of Wisconsin, USA).

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
Betterlife Pharma

Betterlife Publishes Promising Results from a Study Titled "A Non-Hallucinogenic LSD Analog With Therapeutic Potential For Mood Disorders"

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR  OTCQB: BETRF FRA: NPAU ), an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, is pleased to announce that findings from a study on its lead candidate BETR-001 (2-bromo-LSD) titled "A Non-Hallucinogenic LSD Analog With Therapeutic Potential For Mood Disorders" has been published in the peer-reviewed journal of Cell Report .

The study expands on previously reported positive data by performing an extensive pharmacological characterization of BETR-001 in comparison with LSD. The results show distinct central nervous system aminergic receptors pharmacological differences between BETR-001 versus LSD. These include 5-HT2A receptor partial agonism and lack of psychedelic-like effects in vivo for BETR-001 in contrast to LSD. Further, the study demonstrates lack of 5-HT2B agonism for BETR-001 in contrast to the 5-HTB agonism caused by LSD, and therefore a projected safer cardiovascular profile for BETR-001. Finally, the study shows BETR-001 induces neuroplasticity both in vitro and in vivo while promoting active coping behavior in mouse models of depression and anxiety.

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife Announces Pricing of Proposed Offering of Units

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR OTCQB : BETRF FRA: NPAU ) an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, is pleased to announce that it has priced its previously announced private placement offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company ("Units"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company will issue Units at a price of $0.10 per Unit for total minimum aggregate gross proceeds of $1,500,000 and maximum gross proceeds of $5,000,000. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share for a period of 60 months from the date of issuance of such Warrant, at an exercise price of $0.15, subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the warrant indenture to be entered into between the Company and Endeavor Trust Corporation (the "Warrant Indenture").

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife Announces Offering of Units

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR OTCQB : BETRF FRA: NPAU ) an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, is pleased to announce a private placement offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company ("Units"), comprising of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Bloom Burton Securities Inc. ("Bloom Burton" or the "Agent") is acting as the sole placement agent for the Offering. The number of Units to be distributed, the price of each Unit and the exercise price of each common share purchase warrant will be determined by negotiation between the Company and Bloom Burton in the context of the market with final terms to be determined at the time of pricing.

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

BetterLife Announces Engagement of Bloom Burton Securities Inc. and Provides Summary of 2022 Accomplishments

BetterLife Pharma Inc. ("BetterLife" or the "Company") (CSE: BETR  OTCQB: BETRF FRA: NPAU ), an emerging biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of cutting-edge treatments for mental disorders, is pleased to announce the engagement of Bloom Burton Securities Inc. ("Bloom Burton") for strategic advisory services to support BetterLife's growth and development initiatives towards clinical trials.

"We are very excited to be working with Bloom Burton, Canada's leading healthcare investment banking firm," said Ahmad Doroudian, CEO of BetterLife. "Bloom Burton has extensive understanding of the overall biotechnology and healthcare landscape and the emerging psychedelics space specifically, which will help advance our clinical trial initiatives and accomplish our financing needs."

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Abuse Deterrent Formulations Market Exploding While Estimated to Reach $39 Million In 2025 and $54 Million By 2030

FN Media Group News Commentary - The market for abuse-deterrent opioids is still developing, but it's estimated that replacing extended-release opioids with abuse-deterrent formulations could lead to significant cost savings and a reduction in abuse-related medical events. While specific revenue figures for the abuse-deterrent opioid market are not readily available, the potential impact on the broader opioid market is substantial. One such report from Roots Analysis, however, did project revenues, saying: "The abuse deterrent formulations market is estimated to grow from USD 25.7 million in 2024 to reach USD 39.8 million in 2025 and USD 54.8 million by 2030, representing a higher CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period. Although the healthcare industry relies on patient to take medications responsibly, in 2017, close to 18 million individuals were reported to have misused prescription drugs, in the US. In fact, data from a National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in the same year, showed that an estimated 2 million Americans misused prescription pain relievers for the first time in the previous year. Moreover, the same study reported 1.5 million people abusing tranquilizers, over 1 million abusing prescription stimulants and more than 270,000 abusing sedatives, for the first time, in the same time period. Owing to a rapid onset of medicinal effect, which offers immediate relief (with high efficacy), opioids are still considered to be one of the most widely used pharmacological interventions for pain management. However, these drugs are known to induce a euphoric state upon consumption, often causing patients to abuse them; increased recreational use of opioids is known to lead to addiction. Moreover, over-prescription of such medicinal products, which promotes their misuse, is considered as one of the root causes of the opioid crisis (increasing number of deaths involving misuse and addiction to opioids), in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 72,000 overdose-related deaths were reported in 2017, of which close to 50,000 involved the use of an opioid."   Active healthcaretech companies active in the markets include: Nutriband Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRB) (NASDAQ: NTRBW), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLL), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA), Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS).

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Arvinas Announces Submission of New Drug Application to U.S. FDA for Vepdegestrant for Patients with ESR1-Mutated ER+/HER2- Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer

This submission is supported by the pivotal Phase 3 VERITAC-2 clinical trial, results of which were recently presented at the 2025 American Society for Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine –

– VERITAC-2 data support vepdegestrant as a potential treatment option in patients with ESR1m ER+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer –

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Arvinas and Pfizer's Vepdegestrant Significantly Improves Progression-Free Survival for Patients with ESR1-Mutant, ER+/HER2- Advanced Breast Cancer

  • Pivotal Phase 3 VERITAC-2 clinical trial results presented at ASCO demonstrate 2.9-month improvement in median progression-free survival when compared to fulvestrant in second line-plus patients with an estrogen receptor 1 mutation
  • Vepdegestrant was generally well tolerated, with few discontinuations and low rates of gastrointestinal-related adverse events
  • Vepdegestrant is the first and only   PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera   (PROTAC) evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial and the first to show benefit in patients with breast cancer
  • Data to be featured in a late-breaking oral presentation at ASCO and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine
  • Arvinas will host a conference call to discuss these results on Monday, June 2, at 8:00 a.m. ET

Arvinas, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARVN) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced detailed results from the Phase 3 VERITAC-2 clinical trial (NCT05654623) evaluating vepdegestrant monotherapy versus fulvestrant in adults with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (ER+HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC) whose disease progressed following prior treatment with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 46 inhibitors and endocrine therapy. These data, which were highlighted in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO ® ) press briefing and selected for Best of ASCO, will be presented today in a late-breaking oral presentation (Abstract LBA1000) and have been simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine .

Keep reading...Show less

Pfizer's BRAFTOVI® Combination Regimen Cuts the Risk of Death in Half for Patients with BRAF V600E-Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

  • Pivotal results from the Phase 3 BREAKWATER trial showed 51% risk reduction in death compared to standard-of-care treatment
  • BRAFTOVI combination regimen also demonstrated 47% risk reduction in disease progression or death compared to standard-of-care treatment, meeting the trial's dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival
  • First and only combination regimen with targeted therapy to improve survival outcomes for treatment-naïve patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced statistically significant and clinically meaningful survival results from the Phase 3 BREAKWATER trial evaluating BRAFTOVI ® (encorafenib) in combination with cetuximab (marketed as ERBITUX ® ) and mFOLFOX6 (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with a BRAF V600E mutation. These data will be presented today in an oral presentation (Abstract LBA3500) at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO ® ) Annual Meeting and have been simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine .

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Hearing Against Pfizer Set For 30 May In Contraceptive 'Depo-Provera' Multidistrict Litigation Overseen By Levin Papantonio

  • Global pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. is facing a multidistrict litigation (MDL No.3140) in the USA, currently comprising approximately 400 lawsuits against the company.
  • This MDL follows a study by EPI-PHARE (Roland et al.) published in March 2024 in the British Medical Journal , which found that women who had used the Pfizer contraceptive injection Depo-Provera 1 for more than one year were 5.6 times more likely to develop an intracranial meningioma, a type of brain tumor.
  • An estimated 74 million women globally receive Depo-Provera injections according to a 2019 UN study 2 .

A Case Management Conference (CMC) in the Depo-Provera legal action against Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) will take place on Friday, 30 May at 9:00am CT in the United States Courthouse is Pensacola, Florida. The litigation is being brought on behalf of women in the USA who developed meningiomas after receiving at least 4 consecutive injections of Pfizer's Depo-Provera (DMPA). One of the law firms appointed to the Plaintiff's Executive Committee responsible for overseeing the MDL is Levin Papantonio, which has helped to secure more than $80 billion in jury verdicts and settlements against some of the world's largest corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, BP, Dupont, 3M, Merck and big tobacco. The law firm is currently acting for plaintiffs in the Talcum Powder Litigation against Johnson & Johnson and the Preterm Infant Nutrition Products Liability Litigation against Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson, owned by Reckitt Benckiser.

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Astellas and Pfizer's XTANDI Shows Long-Term Overall Survival in Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer

  • Five-year follow-up data from the Phase 3 ARCHES trial shows XTANDI (enzalutamide) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) reduces risk of death by 30%
  • After a median follow-up of 61.4 months, treatment with XTANDI (enzalutamide) plus ADT was associated with a 66% probability of survival at five years compared to 53% probability of survival with placebo plus ADT
  • XTANDI (enzalutamide) is the first and only androgen receptor inhibitor to demonstrate an overall survival benefit at five years in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer
  • Data continue to show wide-ranging effect of treatment with XTANDI (enzalutamide) plus ADT across various patient subgroups, notably those with high-volume disease, no prior docetaxel use, and synchronous disease
  • Long-term data reinforce XTANDI (enzalutamide) plus ADT as a standard of care

Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura "Astellas") and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced longer-term follow-up results from an open-label extension of the Phase 3 ARCHES ( NCT02677896 ) study, reporting a five-year follow up of overall survival (OS) benefits and a 30% reduction in the risk of death in men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) treated with XTANDI ™ (enzalutamide), an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI), plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) compared to placebo plus ADT. These data will be presented during an oral presentation (Abstract #5005) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago ( Tuesday, June 3 9:45 a.m.- 12:45 p.m. US CT).

News Provided by PR Newswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Latest Press Releases

Related News

×