A new collaboration will investigate the efficacy of EVM-101, a first-generation psychedelic treatment, for the treatment of Cancer Related Distress (CRD).
The aim of the clinical trial is to identify and characterise symptoms of CRD that are most responsive to a psilocybin-based treatment.
Neuroscience company Enveric Biosciences will collaborate with the University of Calgary’s leading neurosciences centre of excellence, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the Cumming School of Medicine.
The trial is expected to launch later this year and will be led by HBI researcher, Dr Valerie Taylor, head of the Department of Psychiatry, in Calgary, Canada.
Taylor commented: “We are excited to collaborate with Enveric to study next-generation medicines that we hope will help people cope with the mental health challenges of a cancer diagnosis. This work will allow us to mobilise our combined resources to research options for cancer patients living with CRD.”
Enveric’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Bob Dagher, added: “With the rising rates of cancer and its associated psychological ailments that have been underestimated and underdiagnosed until recently, we are working hard to develop new treatments that help cancer patients suffering from CRD.
“Our collaboration with the research team at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute and IMPACT Clinical Trial Accelerator will help us to demonstrate the potential benefits of these novel treatments and get them to market as quickly as possible.”
Regulatory submission to Health Canada is expected to be finalised soon and patient enrollment is expected to begin late in 2022 or early in 2023. The study design will employ proprietary psychiatry and psychotherapy-focused treatments for cancer patients with CRD. Patients will receive a single oral dose of EVM-101 in a supportive environment with psychotherapy to improve outcomes.
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