BetterLife Pharma has announced its first set of positive data showing the anti-depressant effects of an LSD derivative – 2-bromo-LSD (TD-0148A).
BetterLife has obtained data demonstrating that the LSD derivative TD-0148A significantly reversed the depressive-like behaviour in chronically-stressed female mice with single and repeat dose treatments.
The company believes the second-generation derivative has the potential to offer the therapeutic potential of LSD but without other potentially unwanted side effects such as hallucinations.
The data has been obtained in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr Argel Aguilar-Valles at the Carleton University Department of Neuroscience.
CEO, Dr Ahmad Doroudian, commented: “We are very excited to confirm the projected anti-depressant properties of TD-0148A in rodent depression models conducted by Dr Aguilar-Valles and his team.
“There is a high unmet need for novel anti-depressants for the treatment of major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression and these early data provide evidence for the therapeutic potential of TD-0148A as an anti-depressant.
“BetterLife is fully focused on bringing TD-0148A to the US IND stage and into the clinic as soon as possible, and our collaborations with global experts such as Dr Aguilar-Valles, a leading scientist in depression research, will help us realise our vision.”
The behaviours assessed in the study included an open-field test measuring exploratory behaviour, and a splash test, which was a measure of anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure) and self-hygiene behaviour. TD-0148A treatment showed anti-depressant activity by significantly reversing both depressive-like behaviours in the mice.
Dr Argel Aguilar-Valles commented: “We are pleased to collaborate with the BetterLife team in demonstrating the anti-depressant properties of TD-0148A in our models. The high rate of resistance to SSRI and other first-line treatments in MDD indicates an urgent unmet need for alternative anti-depressant treatments.
“LSD and other psychedelic drugs have been shown to have anti-depressant effects, and non-hallucinogenic derivatives of these drugs such as TD-0148A represent a promising alternative.”
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