Aleafia Health Approved by Janssen Pharmaceuticals to Administer Antidepressant SPRAVATO

• SPRAVATO (esketamine) nasal spray uses the first new mechanism of action in decades to treat treatment resistant depression disorder 
  
• Aleafia Health medical clinics along with select physicians and nurses now approved to administer and prescribe, following completion of Janssen Journey certification
• Offering expands Aleafia's health and wellness solutions to existing and prospective patients across Canada
• SPRAVATO approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada

TORONTO, July 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: AH, OTC: ALEAF) (“Aleafia Health” or the “Company”) today announced that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Janssen”), has approved its wholly owned subsidiary, Canabo Medical Inc. (“Canabo”) as an administrator and prescriber of antidepressant SPRAVATO (esketamine) nasal spray. Three Canabo clinics, including the Company’s flagship Toronto location, along with a growing number of clinic network physicians and nurses, are now approved to administer and prescribe SPRAVATO following the Janssen Journey training program’s completion. The Company intends to further expand this offering at its nationwide network of clinics and education centres which are staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners and have served over 70,000 unique patients to date.

Janssen, a division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for SPRAVATO for use with an oral antidepressant in adults with treatment-resistant depressive disorder (TRD), followed by the drug being made available in Canada on July 22, 2020.

According to Janssen, “Health Canada’s approval was based [on] two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials; a short-term induction study and a long-term maintenance study. In the induction study, those who took SPRAVATO and an oral antidepressant experienced a statistically significant improvement in depression symptoms at four weeks compared to those who received a placebo and an oral antidepressant.”

“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,” said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. “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.”