- Brain injuries affect all aspects of society, from recreational youth athletics to military trauma interventions
- Despite the commonality of brain concussion injuries — more than 5 million a year in the United States alone — no FDA-approved therapy exists
- Medical technology innovator Odyssey Health Inc. is working toward a commercialized product treatment solution to the unmet need of concussion injuries
- Odyssey’s product for treating brain concussion has recently completed a series of human and animal safety trials and is now being prepped for Phase II/III trials focused on proving efficacy
- The product administers neurosteroids across the blood-brain barrier to stop brain swelling following a head injury and is simple enough to be carried in a user’s pockets
- Odyssey formed a pharmaceutical subsidiary to help the company’s push toward product commercialization, and recently announced the expansion of the subsidiary’s executive team to add needed experience
Within the medical community, the tide has turned for individuals treated for physical injuries whose correlate mental deficits were previously largely undetected, undiagnosed, and untreated. Traumatic brain injuries resulting from causes as diverse as playing sports to dealing with explosives are increasingly being recognized as a health hazard that can have serious, though often unrecognized, long-term effects.
Nevada-based medical technology solutions innovator
Odyssey Health (OTC: ODYY) is helping to lead the search for pharmaceutical solutions for brain injuries that may remain hidden while more apparent bodily wounds are being treated, and recent additions to its executive team demonstrate the company’s expectations of commercializing its much needed products.
Odyssey Health’s focus on developing and testing drug candidates to combat conditions with unmet needs has resulted in products such as a device to suck out a foreign obstruction in a choking victim’s throat, and a new solution for detecting heart disease in its early stages.
But the company’s flagship development relates to marketable responses to central nervous system ailments, including the highly fatal childhood disease Niemann-Pick type C Disorder, nerve gas exposure and, most notably, brain concussions.
In October, Odyssey announced the formation of its subsidiary Odyssey Neuropharma, Inc. — a wholly owned pharmaceutical company focused on the development of Odyssey’s neurosteroid solutions for treating these disorders, using its unique intranasal delivery device coupled with its powdered formulations to allow drugs to be delivered more directly and timely to the brain (
https://ibn.fm/NEgom).
The formation of Odyssey Neuropharma followed Odyssey’s completion of Phase I clinical testing for the safety of its drug to treat concussion, using its portable, breath-powered device that administers neurosteroidsinto the nasal cavity where receptors can transport them into the central nervous system bypassing the often stubborn blood-brain barrier.
The trials found the drug candidate to be well tolerated in human subjects and their data is being communicated to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) amid plans for a Phase II/III trial that aims to establish the drug’s effectiveness.
In the meantime, the company’s executive team expansion includes introducing Odyssey Neuropharma’s new Chief Commercial Officer Erik Emerson and Chief Operating Officer Greg Gironda, whose experience is expected to help Odyssey with the drive toward market readiness.
“The opportunity to impact the lives of our military, elderly, children, and athletes was something that one can only hope for in our careers,” Emerson stated in a company news release (
https://ibn.fm/kbk7e). “Mild traumatic brain injury and the subsequent long-term effects are a true urgency. Joining the team at this critical juncture to lead our conversion of strong early science, to potential patient availability is unique.”
For more information, visit the company’s website at
www.OdysseyHealthInc.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ODYY are available in the company’s newsroom at
https://ibn.fm/ODYY
