- In Quebec, ~20% of the population, or 1 in 5 people, experience mental illness during their lifetime; Covid-19 has further exacerbated the number of adults experiencing symptoms of major depression
- This joint venture creates first privately owned clinic in Quebec to address unmet need for accessible, high-quality, advanced mental health services and treatments for depression, suicide, and other mental health disorders including providing access to rapid-onset treatments such as Intravenous ketamine
- Established in 2006, Neurotherapy Montreal provides access to large network of physicians across Quebec, including +1,200 psychiatrists
- Neurotherapy Montreal’s large, established patient base includes patients diagnosed with brain-based injuries such as Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Chronic Pain, Vestibular and Sleep Disorder
- The Braxia clinic is situated within a 14,000 square foot multi-disciplinary state of the art facility, and marks Braxia’s fourth clinic in Canada, expanding its operations nationally.
TORONTO, ONTARIO May 13, 2021 – Braxia Scientific Corp. (the “Company”), (CSE: BRAX) (FWB: 496) (OTC: SHRMF), is pleased to provide further information on its recently disclosed joint venture with the Neurotherapy Montreal Center (“NMC”), entered into to address Quebec’s growing, unmet need for accessible, high-quality and advanced mental health services to patients diagnosed with depression, other mental health disorders and those at risk for suicide.
This marks the opening of the Company’s fourth clinic in Canada under its wholly owned subsidiary, Canadian Rapid Treatment Center of Excellence Inc. (“CRTCE”), operating as Braxia Health. Braxia Health will be the first to offer novel Ketamine therapy, including intravenous therapy, to patients in a private clinical setting in Quebec.
“With 1 in every 5 people in Quebec diagnosed with mental illness, there is a large, growing population that is currently under-served,” said Marcel Mazaltarim, Clinic Manager, Neurotherapy Montreal. “Over the last 14 years we have grown and scaled our platform to provide multiple services so that we can better address patient needs such as brain-based injuries that often result in mental disorders like major depression. We are investing in providing access to new resources and leading-edge technology and expertise, such as novel ketamine therapy in partnership with Braxia Health, so that we can achieve better outcomes for patients and truly make a difference in their quality of life.”
The new clinic is located within Neurotherapy Montreal’s state of the art 14,000 square foot facility providing leading mental health and rehabilitation services, more specifically, brain-based solutions for children and adults using the latest neuromodulation and neuroscience technologies. The center is led by psychiatrists, nurses and other medical professionals that provide treatment to patients diagnosed with injuries that also result in major depression and several mood disorders, making them potential candidates for novel ketamine therapy.
“We are extremely pleased to be joining Neurotherapy Montreal, expanding our clinical research footprint, but more importantly, having the ability to reach more patients diagnosed with depression and other mental disorders to offer rapid-onset treatments, including Intravenous Ketamine Therapy.” said Dr. Roger McIntyre CEO of Braxia Scientific. “Since opening our clinics less than 3 years ago, we have administered over 3,000 Intravenous Ketamine Infusions and over 60 Intranasal Ketamine treatments. Through Braxia Health clinics, these treatments have shown highly significant rapid-acting efficacy to patients with depression. As the first clinic in Canada approved to administer ketamine, and the only community-based centers that administer IV ketamine, many of our patients have experienced substantial relief for what often can be debilitating depression and suicidal thinking.”
The clinic is to be operated as a joint venture, owned equally by the Company and NMC. The terms of the joint venture are reflected in a binding executed term sheet signed by the parties, but are subject to the execution of a definitive joint venture agreement reflecting the term sheet and containing other customary provisions.
About Ketamine and Esketamine Therapy
Ketamine is a dissociative psychedelic that has unique effects on the body and mind. It has a favourable safety profile and has been legally used as an anesthetic since the 1970s. A series of studies in the early 2000s supported ketamine’s effectiveness as an antidepressant, and it is now used in Canada as a doctor-prescribed, off-label treatment for treatment-resistant depression. In March 2019, the US FDA approved a ketamine-based (i.e., esketamine) nasal spray treatment for depression. In May 2020, the nasal spray treatment was approved by Health Canada. In August 2020, the FDA approved an esketamine nasal spray as a treatment for depression with suicidality.
In addition, Ketamine and Esketamine are the first rapid-acting antidepressants that have demonstrated the ability to significantly improve depressive symptoms within 24 hours. Both treatments represent the first treatments for depression that are mechanistically different from the antidepressants that have been available for the past seventy years. In addition to being highly effective, they have demonstrated to be effective for people with depression not responding to conventional antidepressant approaches.
“Replicated clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated rapid reductions in depression and suicidal thoughts with ketamine treatments,” said Dr. Joshua Rosenblat, Medical Director, Braxia Health (CRTCE). “Promising preliminary results are emerging for other psychiatric disorders, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder, Obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance-use disorders.”
About Braxia Health (Canadian Rapid Treatment Center of Excellence)
Braxia Health, first opened in 2018, is a network of multidisciplinary outpatient clinical research treatment facilities specialized in providing breakthrough rapid-acting treatments for depression, such as intravenous ketamine and intranasal esketamine. Therapy focuses on helping patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant conditions such as major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.
For patients interested in receiving treatment, patients must be referred to one of the four Braxia Health CRTCE Clinics by family physicians, psychiatrists, or nurse practitioners. The new Montreal, Quebec clinic is in the Town of Mount Royal, (514) 481-7867 – CRTCE Clinics.
The Ontario CRTCE clinics are in Ottawa, Toronto and Mississauga. More information can be found on the CRTCE website at https://www.crtce.com.
About Braxia Scientific Corp.
Braxia Scientific is a research driven medical solutions company that aims to reduce the illness burden of brain-based mental disorders such as major depressive disorder among others. Braxia Scientific is primarily focused on (i) owning and operating multidisciplinary clinics providing treatment for mental health disorders and (ii) research activities related to discovering and commercializing novel drugs and delivery methods. The Company develops ketamine and psilocybin derivatives and other psychedelic products from its IP development platform. Braxia Scientific, through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Canadian Rapid Treatment Center of Excellence Inc., currently operates multidisciplinary community-based clinics offering rapid-onset treatments for depression located in Mississauga, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Dr. Roger S. McIntyre“
Dr. Roger S. McIntyre
Chairman & CEO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Braxia Scientific Corp. (416) 762-2138
Email: info@braxiascientific.com
Website: www.braxiascientific.com
Media: victoriaollers@braxiascientific.com
(416) 762-2138
The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.
Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations, or beliefs of future performance are “forward-looking statements.”
Forward-looking statements include statements about the intended promise of ketamine and esketamine-based treatments for depression, and the potential for ketamine to treat other emerging psychiatric disorders, for the Company to be a leader in this space and for the Company’s ability to grow its clinical network.
Such forward- looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events, or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the failure of ketamine to provide the expected health benefits and unanticipated side effects, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, municipal, local or other licenses and engaging in activities that could be later determined to be illegal under domestic or international laws.
These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulators, including the Amended and Restated Listing Statement dated April 15, 2021, which are available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements.