Braxia Scientific Kicks Off Clinical Trial; Lands $3 Million Private Placement
Braxia Scientific (CNSX: BRAX) (OCMKTS: BRAXF) has kicked off its landmark clinical trial, the first-ever Health Canada-approved multi-dose trial using psilocybin for the treatment of depression.
In conversation with Braxia CEO Dr. Roger McIntyre, The Dales Report learned just how significant this trial is—not just for the company, but for Canadians with treatment-resistant conditions that are seeking alternative solutions.
“It’s a historical announcement insofar as this is the first and only ongoing, actively recruiting, Health Canada-approved multi-dose study for adults who have depression,” he said. While the study on its own will be significant, McIntyre said the organization and infrastructure it offers is also significant.
“We had to put together the protocol, we had to liaise with Health Canada, we had to get the approvals, we had to acquire the actual medication itself, we had to train everybody…. We haven’t found an infrastructure that can be ‘plug-and-play.’ In other words, Braxia Scientific has the trained human capital.
The study is being carried out through Braxia’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence, or CRTCE, through which the company currently operates four clinics offering ketamine treatment. McIntyre said the clinics (located in Mississauga, Ottawa, and Toronto) have a very high volume of patients.
Currently, patients who are treated at Braxia’s clinics receive what he calls ‘episodic’ treatments involving a series of four to six treatments over a period of several weeks. McIntyre said that as the company continues to work toward better solutions, in the future, he hopes that fewer treatments will need to be administered.
“Ketamine is the first inning of the baseball game… we think that maybe some of these other psilocybin-type derivatives might be similar insofar as being episodic, and being able to rapidly alleviate symptoms,” he said.
Following the start of its landmark psilocybin clinical trial last month, Braxia was in the news again last week after it announced a private placement with institutional investors. The proceeds of the $3 million private placement will be used for clinic expansion, strategic investments, and working capital.
McIntyre says the placement gets Braxia to a place where it can make significant advancements in operations.
“We want to spend our focus over the next 12 to 18 months implementing our strategic priorities. [The first is] to increase the clinical access to psychedelics: we have clinics and we’re building on that through a variety of capabilities,” he said.
“The second, with respect to strategic priorities, is frankly, our brand. People will know our brand, and be able to very clearly differentiate our brand based not just on our clinics but on our R&D.”
The additional capital from the placement will allow Braxia to implement R&D further through its ongoing psilocybin study, as well as additional studies on ketamine and other psychedelic derivatives.
To learn more about Braxia’s ongoing study, as well as McIntyre’s take on the recent news of Big Pharma’s entry into psychedelics, watch the interview above.
