Benzinga | Oct 27, 2021 09:25AM EDT

Small Pharma Receives European Patent Of Ketamine-Based Compounds For Treatment of Depressive Disorders

Small Pharma Inc. (TSXV:DMT) (OTCQB:DMTTF), a neuropharmaceutical company focused on psychedelic-assisted therapies, announced on Tuesday, that it has received a European patent that grants protections for certain oral dosage forms of 2R,6R-hydroxynorketamine ("6-HNK") based compounds, for the treatment of depressive disorders.

"We continue to experience rapid maturation both in our corporate profile and the progression of our pipeline of therapeutic candidates," said Peter Rands, CEO of Small Pharma, reported Psychedelic Finance. "Securing the patent rights to SPL801B, our preclinical ketamine-based candidate for the treatment of depression, allows us to securely investigate its commercial potential."

The European patent office has determined the patentability of the novel dosage forms of 6-HNK, an active ketamine metabolite, including a solid oral dosage form of SPL801B, in combination with a serotonin modulator, for use in the treatment of depressive disorders.

Early preclinical studies of SPL801B have shown signs of potential antidepressant effects without the psychoactive effects typically associated with ketamine.