Creso Pharma Limited (ASX:CPH, FRA:1X8) (‘Creso Pharma’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to advise that target acquisition company Halucenex Life Sciences (“Halucenex”) has entered into an agreement with medical and recreational extraction specialists, Advanced Extraction Systems Inc. (“AESI”) (aesi.biz) for the purchase of a custom-made CO2 Supercritical Extraction System (“Agreement”).for the purpose of producing consistent, high quality psychedelic extracts from psilocybin mushrooms. The CO2 Supercritical Extraction System will take approximately 6-8 weeks to design and install at Halucenex’s onsite laboratory, and cost approximately $70,000 to build. Upon receipt of a Dealer’s License from Health Canada, Halucenex will apply for a License Amendment to allow the production of botanical psychedelic extracts from psilocybin mushrooms for use future research and development of a range of different delivery methods including tinctures, lozenges, nasal sprays and capsules amongst others. Halucenex anticipates the receipt of the Dealers License imminently, with the License Amendment expected to be received within 45 days after the grant of the Dealers License.
The design and fabrication of the system is a major development for Halucenex and provides a pivotal building block for future product development initiatives. It also provides Halucenex with increased security over the future supply of psilocybin, reducing Halucenex’s reliance on third parties for in-demand supply, and allowing Halucenex better control over the timelines for research and product development.
AESI is based in Charlottetown, Canada and specialises in the design, engineering and fabrication of supercritical fluid CO2 extraction systems with a specific focus on the medical and recreational cannabis and hemp industries. The group is made up of a skilled management team and world-class scientific advisory body with over 75 years’ experience in design and process. All systems are unique in design, efficiency and ease of operation, and exceed the safety and design requirements for pressure and electrical codes in Canada, the USA and Europe.
Subject to the receipt of its Dealers License, and subsequent License Amendment, Halucenex will use the Supercritical Extraction System to breakdown the various psychedelic compounds of botanical psilocybin for future product development. It will also explore the efficacy of extracted distillates or concentrates in various delivery mechanisms to explore faster compound onset, more effective dosing which can lead to a better patient experience and more positive treatment outcomes. The accumulation of intellectual property and understanding of various psychedelic compounds in this under researched, but growing space is critical for de-risking the path to commercialisation Understanding the various psychedelic compounds which can be extracted from psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms also paves the way for patenting both the compound, and the way in which it is used to deliver desired patient outcomes.
Halucenex does not intend to use the new extraction machine to produce its own naturally derived psilocybin in its upcoming clinical trials, as currently Health Canada prefers the use of synthetic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) due to the fact that natural psilocybin has yet to be fully certified in a GMP environment. However, through the use of the extraction system, Halucenex is looking to create a GMP certified extract, which it then intends to use in future clinical trials to provide a naturally extracted product for safe, evidence-based psilocybin-assisted psychotherapies and optimise psilocybe mushrooms in order to standardise extracts, thereby increasing efficacy.
Commentary:
Halucenex Founder & CEO Bill Fleming said: “This agreement with AESI is a major development for a number of reasons. Firstly, the ability to extract psychedelic compound concentrates will allow us to progress the development of a number of delivery methods with broad applicability, including capsules, sprays, tinctures and lozenges amongst others, which may result in a higher standard of treatment.”
“Additionally, the extracted product will allow us to analyse, characterise and compare the major components in various psilocybe mushroom strains through our established laboratory setting, leading to initial research and the potential entourage effects of psychedelic compounds.
“Further, we anticipate that considerable future research will be undertaken between synthetic and botanical psilocybin to fully understand the benefits it can offer. Having the extraction system in place and the ability to produce solvent-free distillate in-house will be key for future comparative bioactivity studies.”
Non-executive Chairman Adam Blumenthal said: “It is very pleasing to see Halucenex make such significant progress in a short period of time.
“The agreement with AESI and subsequent fabrication of a leading extraction system will provide Creso and Halucenex with a first mover advantage in terms of psychedelic product and delivery methods, which could in turn lead to a number of revenue generating and treatment outcome opportunities.
“The Company has a number of growth initiatives planned in the near term across North America and Europe and we look forward to providing ongoing updates to shareholders.”
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