Canada’s Optimi Health to ship psilocybin to New Zealand psychedelics research center

Canadian psychedelics company Optimi Health Corp. (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN) inked a deal to supply a New Zealand research institute with psilocybin, giving the company a boost to its international dealings.

Although Optimi already has a psychedelic footprint in neighboring Australia, the new supply deal – with the Mātai Medical Research Institute on behalf of the Tū Wairua Project – is the first such agreement for Optimi with any entity in New Zealand.

Optimi’s British Columbia-made psilocybin extracts will be utilized by a clinical study focused on native Maori tribal members dealing with methamphetamine use disorder.

“This agreement marks our entry into a new market and underscores the historical and cultural importance of the work being undertaken by our colleagues in New Zealand to honour and respect the indigenous heritage of the Māori people,” Optimi CEO Bill Ciprick said in a press release.

The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal or the amount of psilocybin to be supplied, but it will provide the institute with “a quantity of its validated GMP Full Spectrum Natural Psilocybin extract,” following news a week ago that three of its psilocybin batches had undergone full release testing and obtained certificates of analysis, a key hurdle in proving product quality.

The study is an attempt by the New Zealand tribe to revive ancient healing and cultural practices using natural medicines, Jody Toroa, trustee of Rangiwaho Marae, added in the release.

“Alongside many First Nations peoples, we have a relationship with native flora and fauna as a source of healing and reconnection to our respective indigenous cultural practices,” Toroa said. “Optimi medicines provide the closest natural fungi to the marae’s local, indigenous species, which for Rangiwaho Marae and the Tū Wairua collective, is key to the integrity of the project. Synthetic products, by comparison, are not conducive to our reclaiming of cultural knowledge and customary practice.”

Optimi also won permission last fall to supply a Canadian government-run health program with psilocybin and MDMA.

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