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Aleafia Health (TSX:AH) approved to administer new antidepressant

Cannabis
TSX:AH
24 July 2020 15:15 (EDT)
Aleafia Health Inc. - CEO, Geoffrey Banic

Source: SmallCap Power

Aleafia Health (AH) has been approved by Janssen Pharmaceuticals to add the SPRAVATO treatment to its portfolio of offerings. 

A vertically integrated cannabis company, Aleafia Health currently operates the largest national network of medical cannabis clinics and education centre.

The treatment is a nasal spray is intended to be effective against treatment resistant depression disorder and has been approved U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which developed the nasal spray, has approved Aleafia subsidiary Canabo Medical to administer and prescribe the product to its customers.

Thus far, three Canabo clinics and a number of clinic network physicians and nurses are able to distribute the spray, following a Janssen-led training program. 

The drug was approved by Health Canada and the US FDA following two phase three clinical trials, which tested it against a placebo and a standalone oral antidepressant.

The two studies revealed that patients who used the drug in conjunction with an oral antidepressant saw an improvement in depressive systems by four weeks. 

Aleafia Health plans to further expand the approval to all its clinics nation-wide.

CEO of Aleafia Health, Geoffrey Benic, commented on the new addition to the company’s portfolio. 

“The expansion of Aleafia Health’s services to our existing and prospective patients speaks to our commitment to improving the lives of Canadians through innovative, evidence-based medicine.

“We believe the skill sets and training of our physicians, the existing infrastructure of our national clinic network and our passion for patient access and best-in-class medicine make Aleafia Health particularly well situated to administer SPRAVATO,” he said.

Aleafia Health (AH) is up 11.4 per cent and is trading at C$0.64 per share at 3:22pm EDT.

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