Researchers from Altum and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile have obtained approval to begin a randomized placebo-controlled trial of BetterLife’s proprietary AP-003 treatment in COVID-19 patients.

AP-003 is a non-invasive inhaled substance that is administered with a nebulizer—which turns medication into a mist that can be inhaled—twice daily for ten days.

Dr. Ahmad Doroudian, CEO of BetterLife, commented on the start of the trials.

“We are excited to initiate this trial of AP-003 in COVID-19 patients in collaboration with the Escuela de Medicina (school of medicine) at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile,” he said.

Dr. Arturo Borzutzky, principal investigator of the IN2COVID trial, also commented on the work that is being done.

“There are several reasons why there is a need for an effective, easy to administer, non-invasive treatment, such as AP-003, for COVID-19,” he remarked.

“These reasons include: the time it will take to vaccinate the whole population; not knowing the duration of protection afforded by the current vaccines; emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants; and emergence of possible totally new coronavirus pandemics in the future.”

BetterLife Pharma, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of psychedelic products for the treatment of mental disorders.

BetterLife Pharma Inc. (BETR) is up 1.45 per cent, trading at $0.35 per share as of 9:38 am ET.