Optimi Health Completes Harvest Of Psilocybe Cubensis For Australian Medical Market
Upon completion of validated regulatory and clinical documentation, the GMP extracted product will be exported to Australia in preparation for the country’s Authorised Prescriber Scheme on July 1, 2023.
Optimi Health Corp. (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN) (“Optimi” or the “Company”), an end-to-end drug researcher and formulator licensed by Health Canada to produce and supply, for clinical research purposes and in controlled patient markets, psychedelic substances such as 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), GMP-grade psilocybin, along with natural health product formulations, is pleased to announce the completion of its harvest of Psilocybe cubensis earmarked for export to Australia.
This milestone builds off the previously announced commitment to supply both its GMP medical-grade psilocybin extract and MDMA to Mind Medicine Australia in advance of the historic rescheduling of these substances to be enacted on July 1, 2023.
In preparation for the international export, the Company harvested 300 kg of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms at its Canadian GMP manufacturing facility in Princeton, British Columbia, Canada. Medical-grade GMP psilocybin is set to be extracted from the mushrooms, processed, and shipped to Australia, where it will be sold to other licensed entities in the Australian medical market through Mind Medicine Australia and the Company’s representatives.
In the February 3, 2023 landmark rescheduling decision, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) permitted “the prescribing of MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression…where there is currently sufficient evidence for potential benefits in certain patients.”
“The evidence-based decision by the TGA to reschedule psilocybin and MDMA is a positive step for the future of mental health and a monumental undertaking in logistics,” said Optimi Health CEO Bill Ciprick. “To be entrusted as the exclusive supplier to Mind Medicine Australia, the largest Australian trainer of psychedelic-assisted therapy practitioners, is both an honour and a tremendous responsibility. I am proud to say that thanks to our unmatched production capacity and with the support of our operations team, Optimi is excited to deliver on our international supply commitments in advance of the rescheduling date.”
The psilocybin extract from the latest harvest will be tested, analyzed, and validated by a third-party laboratory prior to being shipped to Australia. On completion of analysis, the product will be processed and encapsulated at the Company’s licensed Princeton, British Columbia facility in preparation for export, pending the appropriate permits.