The Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) share price has been a strong performer this morning.
At the time of writing, the cannabis and psychedelics company's shares are up 6% to 17 cents.
This means the Creso share price is now up 16% since this time last week.
Why is the Creso share price storming higher?
Investors have been buying the company's shares this morning after it released an update on its soon to be acquired Halucenex Life Sciences business.
According to the release, Halucenex has made the strategic decision to expand the recruitment of its phase II Treatment Resistant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) clinical trial.
The release explains that the trial will now include participants that have not served in the military or undertaken roles as first responders.
The decision to expand the trial scope was made following an overwhelming amount of inbound enquiries that the company received from individuals that suffer from debilitating mental health conditions and are seeking alternative treatment methods.
Halucenex expects the addition of non-veterans to the clinical trial will allow it to collate an additional data set. This will provide real world examples of the efficacy of psilocybin when used as an alternative treatment route.
Management commentary
Halucenex's Founder & CEO Bill Fleming commented: "The inclusion of non-veterans in our pending clinical trial is a strategic decision that will provide a number of benefits to Halucenex and Creso Pharma. Following various regulatory shifts in the US and the exacerbating effect COVID-19 has had on mental health conditions across the population, it is becoming more and more apparent that psychedelic treatments could become mainstream in the near future, so to include every day people in our R&D will provide us with examples of how psilocybin can be used more broadly to treat mental health issues."
"Further, expanding the trial scope will add to the growing body of evidence for psychedelic based medicines, and assist the Company as it progresses further research and licensing agreements in North America and more broadly," he added.
This sentiment was echoed by Creso's Non-executive Chairman, Adam Blumenthal.
He said: "Halucenex's management continue to make steps towards creating psychedelic compounds and therapeutics that can be used for both veterans and first responders, as well as every day individuals. To broaden the clinical trial participant scope, is a very promising development and will lay a very strong foundation for the Company as it pushes towards becoming a best-in-class provider of cannabis, cannabinoids and psychedelic alternative medicines, to meet the growing need for treatments to improve wellbeing."
