The approval in Slovenia will allow MGC Pharma to become one of the first movers in the burgeoning space of psychedelics.

MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) is set to  expand its European footprints further after receiving permission from the Slovenian Ministry of Health to undergo scientific research on the psychedelic compound, psilocybin.

The permission allows MGC to develop analytical methods, research physical-chemical properties of psilocybin, and undergo the development of pharmaceutical forms that would be suitable for administration in Slovenia.

It will also enable MGC to provide  services related to the growing industry of psychedelics.

“We are pleased to have obtained permission from the Slovenian Ministry of Health to undertake pharmaceutical research with psilocybin, which puts the company at the forefront of experimental, pharmaceutical research,” said MGC Pharma CEO, Roby Zomer.

“We are extremely grateful to the Slovenian Health Ministry for enabling us to utilise our research expertise in this area.”

An early mover

MGC Pharma is one of the first companies in the world  and the first in Slovenia to obtain permission to undertake pharmaceutical research on psilocybin.

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in a variety of fungi and mushrooms, which shows great potential in many serious medical conditions.

Research into the medical use of psilocybin has recently gained attention at a global level.

In Australia, the TGA announced in February that it will be granting permission for the prescribing of psilocybin for the treatment-resistant depression, and MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), commencing on the 1st July.

Following the approval in Slovenia today, MGC can now provide development anid compounding services to companies dealing with psilocybin who wish to have a medicine in the market.  This means MGC can research, develop and manufacture for third parties, which has the potential to open up new business unit and future revenue stream for the company.

As a next step, the company says it plans to work with other pharmaceutical businesses to collaborate and provide research capabilities for understanding of the properties of psilocybin.

“Whilst we continue to focus on our core development pipeline of CimetrA and CannEpil, we look forward to working with other pharmaceutical partners to establish the properties of psilocybin and demonstrate how it could be used to develop medicines to treat people with debilitating conditions,” said Zomer.

MGC Pharma has a rapidly expanding pipeline.

In March, the company announced the inclusion of lead asset ArtemiC into the US FDA’s NDC database, which means that  the clinically tested COVID-19 treatment could now be sold through the US Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) networks starting this month.

This article was developed in collaboration with MGC Pharma, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.