BetterLife Pharma Inc. ('BetterLife' or the 'Company') (CSE: BETR / OTCQB: BETRF / FRA: NPAU) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Altum Pharmaceuticals Inc. ('Altum'), and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile have obtained approval from the Instituto de Salud Publica de Chile to conduct their planned randomized placebo-controlled trial ('IN2COVID') in COVID-19 patients.

The trial, set to start in early August, tests BetterLife's proprietary inhaled interferon alpha-2b ('IFN-a2b') product, AP-003.

BetterLife's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ahmad Doroudian, commented, 'We are excited to initiate this trial of AP-003 in COVID-19 patients in collaboration with the Escuela de Medicina (school of medicine) at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. The team as well as the trial center are the leaders in Chile in conducting COVID-19 trials.' Dr. Arturo Borzutzky, principal investigator of the IN2COVID trial, said, 'We are pleased to be partnering with Altum to bring AP-003 to COVID-19 patients'. He added, 'There are several reasons why there is a need for an effective, easy to administer, non-invasive treatment, such as AP-003, for COVID-19. These reasons include: the time it will take to vaccinate the whole population; not knowing the duration of protection afforded by the current vaccines; emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and emergence of possible totally new coronavirus pandemics in the future. AP-003, being a Type I interferon, is a broad acting anti-viral agent, and therefore potentially could be effective in all these scenarios.' The IN2COVID trial will have a randomized placebo Phase 1 portion in healthy subjects followed by a randomized placebocontrolled Phase 2 portion in early stage COVID-19 patients (

About BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife Pharma Inc. is an emerging biotechnology company primarily focused on developing and commercializing two compounds, TD-0148A and TD-010, to treat neurological disorders such as depression, cluster headaches and anxiety. TD0148A is a non-hallucinogenic and non-controlled psychedelic candidate and is unique in that it is not regulated and therefore can be self-administered. TD-010 is a treatment of anxiety without the addictive potential of benzodiazepines. BetterLife also owns a drug candidate for the treatment of viral infections such as COVID-19 and is in the process of seeking strategic alternatives for further development.

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