Magdalena Biosciences Initiates Preclinical Study to Evaluate Plant Extracts to Treat Depression, Anxiety, ADHD and Other Mental Health Indications

Magdalena Biosciences, a joint venture recently formed by Jaguar Health and Filament Health Corp., is focused on developing novel, natural prescription medicines derived from plants for mental health indications

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 23, 2023 / Jaguar Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAGX) today announced that Magdalena Biosciences, Inc., the joint venture recently formed by Jaguar and Filament Health Corp. (OTCQB:FLHLF)(NEO:FH)(FSE:7QS) to develop novel, natural prescription medicines derived from plants for mental health indications, has initiated a preclinical study in Brazil to evaluate two plant extracts for their potential to treat depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other possible neuropsychiatric conditions initially in adults.

"This preclinical study will consist of evaluating both extracts in mice, using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) scans to look for differential neuronal activity," said Dr. Karen Brunke, Jaguar's EVP of Corporate and Business Development and Acting CEO of Magdalena Biosciences. "We hope to see differential synaptic activity and communication in specific brain regions (connectivity) of interest for a range of mental disorders with these extracts. This study will help determine what dose as well as the best first therapeutic indication for possible use in humans aimed at potential future FDA approval as botanical drugs."

Analysis of the FDG PET scans will be done by Dr. Eduardo A. Zimmer of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The Zimmer Lab is comprised of a multidisciplinary team with expertise in conducting refined non-invasive imaging studies in small animals and humans. "Beyond PET conventional analyses, we have been developing new tools to understand brain regional communication, which we believe can help to test novel drugs for treating complex mental disorders," Dr. Zimmer said.

Dr. Elaine Elisabetsky, who has general responsibility for coordinating resources and principal investigators for this project in Brazil, is one of the world's leading ethnopharmacologists. She is a consultant to both Magdalena Biosciences and Jaguar and is a member of the scientific strategy team for Jaguar's Entheogen Therapeutics Initiative (ETI). Identification of plants best suited for these studies were done as part of the ETI, which aims to discover and develop groundbreaking, novel, natural medicines derived from psychoactive plants for treatment of mood disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, addiction, and other mental health disorders. The Magdalena Biosciences joint venture emerged from Jaguar's ETI.