Fully non-hallucinogenic, oral, non-scheduled 5-HT2A neuroplastogen differentiates BETR-001 from every other 5-HT2A agonist program; depression and other psychiatric disorders retained as optional future indications
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 13, 2026) - BetterLife Pharma Inc. (CSE: BETR) (OTCQB: BETRF) (FSE: NPAU) ("BetterLife" or the "Company"), today announced the prioritization of its lead clinical-stage asset, BETR-001, to pursue migraine and other primary headache disorders as its lead indications. The strategic focus concentrates BETR-001's development on one of the largest, most disabling and most underserved areas of neurology, and does so through a serotonin-receptor mechanism of action that is already clinically validated and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in multiple marketed migraine therapies.
BETR-001 is the patented, active (6R,9R) stereoisomer of 2-bromo-LSD (2-Br-LSD) - a fully non-hallucinogenic derivative of LSD that acts as a 5-HT2A partial agonist and potent "neuroplastogen." Prioritizing BETR-001 for migraine and headache aligns the asset's validated pharmacology, existing human clinical precedent, and de-risked regulatory package with a market of more than one billion patients, while preserving optionality across psychiatry and neuropathic pain.
A Migraine Mechanism That Is Already Validated - and Already Approved
Serotonin (5-HT) receptor pharmacology is the foundation of modern migraine therapy. Unlike the psychiatric indications pursued by most serotonergic programs, migraine is a field where serotonergic mechanisms of action have been repeatedly proven in the clinic and approved by regulators for more than six decades:
Triptans (e.g., sumatriptan) are 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists and remain the standard of care for acute migraine.
Lasmiditan (Reyvow®), a selective 5-HT1F receptor agonist, was FDA-approved in 2019, confirming that serotonergic agonism continues to yield new, approved migraine medicines.
Ergot alkaloids - dihydroergotamine and ergotamine - are lysergic-acid-derived agents acting across multiple serotonin receptors, including 5-HT2, and have been used in migraine for generations.
Methysergide, FDA-approved in 1962 as a migraine preventive, is itself a lysergic-acid (LSD-related) derivative that acts through serotonin 5-HT2 and 5-HT1 receptors - the closest structural and mechanistic precedent to BETR-001.
BETR-001 sits squarely within this validated serotonergic - and specifically lysergic-pharmacology but is engineered to remove the liabilities that constrained the earlier agents: the fibrotic toxicity that limited methysergide, the vasoconstriction and cardiovascular restrictions of ergots and triptans, and the hallucinogenic activity of LSD. In short, BETR-001 pursues a mechanism the field already knows works, in a molecule designed to be safer and more patient-friendly.