TORONTO, April 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PharmAla Biotech Holdings Inc. (CSE: MDMA)(OTCQB: MDXXF) ("PharmAla" or the "Company"), a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of MDMA and next-generation MDXX class molecules, today responded to the Executive Order signed on April 18, 2026 by the President of the United States, which directs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") to establish a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelic drugs, and directs the FDA Commissioner to issue National Priority Vouchers to appropriate psychedelic drugs that have received Breakthrough Therapy designation.

Positioned and Ready to Supply the U.S. Expanded Access Pathway

PharmAla is fully positioned and operationally ready to supply the U.S. Expanded Access pathway contemplated by the Executive Order. PharmAla’s LaNeo™ MDMA is already present in the United States and is actively being supplied into several U.S. clinical trials, including trials sponsored by and conducted within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Defense Health Agency (DHA). PharmAla’s supply chain, quality systems, and regulatory filings are in place to scale rapidly in response to any increase in U.S. demand generated by the Executive Order.

“The Executive Order signed this weekend marks an important inflection point for U.S. patients, and for our sector,” said Nicholas Kadysh, CEO of PharmAla Biotech. “This is the moment we built for. PharmAla has GMP MDMA in the United States today, active supply into VA and DHA programs, and the most successful commercial MDMA operation on the planet through our Australian joint venture. We're not preparing. We're ready.”

ALA-002 GMP Manufacturing Initiated; Patient Dosing Expected in 2026

PharmAla also confirmed today that it has initiated GMP manufacturing of its patented ALA-002 active pharmaceutical ingredient ("API"), the Company’s lead next-generation MDXX class drug candidate. Consistent with prior guidance, PharmAla continues to expect that ALA-002 will be dosed in patients in 2026. ALA-002 has been designed with an improved safety profile relative to MDMA — in particular, a materially reduced cardiovascular signature — and is the foundation of PharmAla’s next-generation therapeutic pipeline.

Cortexa Australia: The World’s Only Real Commercial MDMA Market

Through its Cortexa joint venture in Australia, PharmAla is the number one supplier of MDMA into the legal Australian clinical market — the only jurisdiction globally in which MDMA is currently approved for prescription by Authorised Prescriber psychiatrists for the treatment of PTSD. This operating footprint gives PharmAla exceptional and unique commercial insight into how a real-world commercial MDMA market actually behaves — insight that is not available to any other MDMA developer globally, and that is directly informing both PharmAla’s commercial strategy and the development profile of ALA-002 and other molecules.

Clinical Insight from Australia: Cardiotoxicity Is a Core Commercial Consideration

Dr. Farnoud Kazemzadeh, Chief Operating Officer of PharmAla Biotech, stated: “On a recent trip to Australia, I had the opportunity to spend time with our partner clinics and prescriber customers and hear directly from them about what is actually happening in the real world of commercial MDMA-assisted therapy. MDMA-related cardiovascular stress consistently came up as a real constraint on patient eligibility and clinic throughput. That's driving unprompted commercial interest in ALA-002, which was engineered to address exactly this limitation.”

About PharmAla Biotech

PharmAla Biotech Holdings Inc. (CSE: MDMA)(OTCQB: MDXXF) is a biotechnology company focused on the research, development, and manufacturing of MDXX class molecules, including MDMA. PharmAla was founded with a dual focus: alleviating the global backlog of generic, clinical-grade MDMA to enable clinical trials as well as commercial sales in selected jurisdictions, and to develop novel drugs in the same class. PharmAla is the only company currently provisioning clinical-grade MDMA for patient treatments outside of clinical trials. PharmAla’s research and development unit has completed proof-of-concept research into several IP families, including ALA-002, its lead drug candidate. PharmAla is a “regulatory first” organization, formed under the principle that true success in the psychedelics industry will only be achieved through excellent relationships with regulators.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding PharmAla’s ability to supply the U.S. Expanded Access pathway contemplated by the Executive Order, the expected regulatory effect and implementation of the Executive Order, the initiation and progression of GMP manufacturing of ALA-002, the anticipated dosing of ALA-002 in patients in 2026, the expected EBITDA profitability of Cortexa in its current fiscal year, and the nature and level of commercial demand for ALA-002. Words such as “could”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “will”, “projected”, “estimated” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking information, and are based on PharmAla’s current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions made by PharmAla and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors — including regulatory, clinical, manufacturing, and market risks — that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and PharmAla is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Nicholas Kadysh

Chief Executive Officer

PharmAla Biotech Holdings Inc.

nick@pharmala.ca

www.PharmAla.ca