Quick Update from an Advocate (I posted on here briefly in the past)

[JackFernandes]

Hi all-

I want to start by apologizing for not meeting my mission. I wanted to get everyone access to BOL-148, also known as 2-Bromo-LSD. This compound has had an interesting history- it was synthesized by Albert Hoffman who 'discovered' LSD and was used as a radiolabeling compound in some experiments decades ago. As we know, some serotonergic psychedelics may help with cluster headaches (psilocybin)(1) 

The idea was that, since BOL-148 basically acts as a non-psychedelic neutral agonist at many of the sites of LSD(2), it could provide a safe & effective therapeutic effect for those who have responded well to a psychedelic but want something that won't alter mental status. It could possibly be used as a preventative measure to abate cluster headaches (3).

Since I embarked upon the journey of 'developing' BOL, I ended up in a biopharmaceutical adventure that gave me the privilege of starting/growing a few companies, one of which has a drug in the clinic.

I have now stepped down from a company I cofounded (stepped down in November 2022) and am running full time for the CA State Assembly, 75th District. Our campaign is progressing well and our message resonates with voters in the area (North/East San Diego County).

If elected, I'd like to do my best to be a strong advocate for this community as a representative in the California Legislature. You can follow the campaign here:

https://www.fernandesforassembly.com/

Just to reiterate, my support for you is not partisan but based in an empathy I've developed as a patient advocate for my mom. As some of you may know from past discourse, my mom suffers from a particularly aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis (which has now been diagnosed as secondary progressive). It is another neurological condition that has not had the support it deserves, without many viable treatments. 

I can only apologize for not being able to develop anything meaningful for this community...Yet. 

I have tried my absolute best and have never forgotten. I will never forget - I am always one of the few at meetings saying "interesting MOA, could it work for cluster headaches?"

Humbly yours,

-Jack
 

Sources

(1) Sewell, RA; Halpern, JH; Pope HG, Jr (27 June 2006). "Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD". Neurology. 66 (12): 1920–2. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000219761.05466.43. PMID 16801660. S2CID 31220680.

(2) Ginzel KH, Mayer-Gross W (July 1956). "Prevention of psychological effects of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD 25) by its 2-brom derivative (BOL 148)". Nature. 178 (4526): 210. Bibcode:1956Natur.178..210G. doi:10.1038/178210a0. PMID 13348662. S2CID 4169373.

(3) Karst M, Halpern JH, Bernateck M, Passie T (September 2010). "The non-hallucinogen 2-bromo-lysergic acid diethylamide as preventative treatment for cluster headache: an open, non-randomized case series". Cephalalgia. 30 (9): 1140–1144. doi:10.1177/0333102410363490. PMID 20713566. S2CID 33199115.

[cluster-schmuck77]

Hey Jack, thanks for this information. I greatly appreciate anyone who gets the word out to create awareness of certain conditions that don’t get enough attention. Being as rare as we cluster patients are, I feel like many of us feel very left out and swept under the rug. Thank you for not forgetting about us!! Hoping for your mom’s good health!