Billionaires, like Peter Thiel are investing in psychedelic stocks. In fact, he just backed ATAI Life Sciences in a $125 million funding round. “ATAI’s great virtue is to take mental illness as seriously as we should have been taking all illness all along,” Thiel, who co-founded Palantir and PayPal, said as quoted by CNBC. “The company’s most valuable asset is its sense of urgency.” At the moment, there’s growing interest in psychedelics after clinical studies suggested such drugs could help treat a range of mental illnesses. “Almost a billion people suffer from mental health problems worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Of the 322 million people globally that have depression, roughly a third are treatment-resistant,” added CNBC.
After all, “Traditional medicines that are treating things like depression, addiction, and anxiety really are seeking to numb and mask the issues that surround these illnesses. So, things like Xanax, while they might make you feel better, they can also be highly addictive and are not dealing with the underlying problem,” MindMed’s co-founder and co-CEO JR Rahn told Yahoo Finance. In addition, clinical studies by New York University and Johns Hopkins are pointing to positive mental health results. With excitement gaining momentum, some of the top companies to watch include CYBIN Inc. (NEO:CYBN), Mind Medicine Inc. (OTC:MMEDF), COMPASS Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS), Field Trip Health Ltd. (CSE:FTRP)(OTC:FTRPF), and HAVN Life Sciences (CSE:HAVN).
CYBIN Inc. (NEO:CYBN) BREAKING NEWS: CYBIN Inc. a life sciences company focused on psychedelic pharmaceutical therapies, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Adelia Therapeutics Inc. for up to CDN$20,161,575 (approximately USD$15.75 million) in an all-stock transaction. The Transaction is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary conditions, including the receipt of all applicable regulatory and NEO Exchange Inc. approvals.
Adelia is an innovative biopharmaceutical company committed to addressing unmet mental health needs through the development of proprietary psychedelic therapeutics with improved dosing efficacy and therapeutic indices. Adelia’s leadership team brings a wealth of clinical development experience and major academic research affiliations, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Northeastern University.
“We are thrilled to join forces with Adelia, as we see this transaction as potentially advancing Cybin’s ability to innovate our psychedelic drug development program and diversify beyond major depressive disorder. Adelia’s focus on creating novel therapeutics, including novel delivery methods and innovative therapeutic regimens can support our goal of creating therapies that result in faster onset of action, smoother pharmacokinetic profiles, shorter treatment durations, and reduced side effects. Leveraging Adelia’s expertise across multiple molecules and multiple indications could potentially allow Cybin to extend its reach and capability to address gaps across a larger domain,” stated Doug Drysdale, Chief Executive Officer of Cybin.
“Cybin is committed to expansion through strategic M&A opportunities. Today we deliver on that commitment and we will continue to pursue such opportunities to drive growth in the future,” concluded Drysdale.
Adelia’s founders, Alex Nivorozhkin, PhD (Chief Executive Officer) and Brett J. Greene (President, Chief Strategy Officer) bring decades of experience in psychedelics and drug development and are affiliated with Northeastern University’s world-renowned Center for Drug Discovery in Boston. Dr. Michael Palfreyman, Chief Operating Officer, is an accomplished pharmaceutical industry veteran responsible for more than 30 successful clinical programs.
Collectively, Adelia’s talented team has deep expertise in drug discovery, development, clinical evaluation and commercialization; a wealth of highly cited peer-reviewed publications; 35 successful exits; and prestigious academic affiliations. Adelia’s senior leaders have overseen research and development and the market entry of major drugs such as Allegra (fexofenadine), Sabril (vigabatrin), Anzemet (dolasetron), and Vaniqa (eflornithine) and have been affiliated with major pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Roche, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
Management of Cybin intends to work with the Adelia team on a three pillar development strategy, each subject to the receipt of all necessary approvals: (a) the development of a novel drug discovery platform and to research the potential efficacy of psychedelic molecules to address unmet mental health needs; (b) the development of efficient drug delivery aimed at enhancing dosing control; and (c) the development of a potential novel treatment regimen.
Adelia’s team has also laid out a three-year development plan (2021 – 2023), with the first year’s preclinical to clinical stage focused on application of the proprietary delivery and device platform; the second year’s clinical stage focused on developing new chemical entities with the aim of scaling up production; and the third year’s clinical trials stage to advance proprietary technologies and drug delivery devices.
Upon completion of the Transaction and subject customary approvals including approval of the Board and NEO Exchange, Alex Nivorozhkin, PhD, will assume the title of Chief Scientific Officer; Michael G. Palfreyman, PhD, DSc, will assume the role of Chief Research and Development Officer; and Brett Greene will assume the role of Chief Innovation Officer for Cybin.
“Cybin brings complementary resources to the table, and together we can advance our shared goal of bringing psychedelic therapies across a broad spectrum of indications. This transaction positions us well for growth in the public market and gives us access to the capital needed to advance these projects from the bench, through the clinic, and ultimately to the patients who desperately need them. We have a great deal of respect for Doug and his team and look forward to the opportunity to transform the psychedelic therapeutics industry together,” stated Alex Nivorozhkin, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Adelia.
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Mind Medicine Inc. (OTC:MMEDF) is pleased to announce that further to its previously announced offering on November 25, 2020, it has filed a preliminary short form prospectus with the securities commissions or similar authorities in each province of Canada, other than Québec. Pursuant to the underwriting agreement among the Company, Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Eight Capital, the Underwriters have agreed to purchase 15,800,000 units of the Company, on a “bought deal” basis, at a price per Unit of CAD$1.90 for gross proceeds of CAD$30,020,000.
COMPASS Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS), a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2020 and gave an update on recent progress across its business. George Goldsmith, Chairman, CEO and Co-founder, COMPASS Pathways, said, “This has been a significant quarter, with an IPO that gives us the funds needed to advance our mission and transform mental health care. Recent hires for the company build further important expertise within our strong leadership team, including in data science and digital health, which will be core to the future of mental health care. We remain fully focused on execution of our phase IIb trial investigating our COMP360 psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression and, with scientific partners in our recently established Drug Discovery Center, are also evaluating the potential of early stage compounds to address mental health challenges.”
Field Trip Health Ltd. (CSE:FTRP)(OTC:FTRPF), a leader in the development and delivery of psychedelic therapies, reported its second fiscal quarter results for the three and six months ended September 30, 2020. For the second fiscal quarter, Field Trip reported patient services revenues of $94,532 from its Toronto and New York Field Trip Health centers, which began continuous operations in June and August, respectively. Net loss for the second fiscal quarter of $3,932,444 was primarily due to general and administration expenses of $2,182,144, research and development expenses of $745,989, sales & marketing expenses of $268,475, patient services expenses of $232,114, occupancy costs of $111,877 and realized foreign exchange loss of $196,288. Net loss for the second fiscal quarter of 2020 of $514,643 was primarily due to general and administration expenses of $411,686, occupancy costs of $59,342 and sales and marketing expenses of $43,582.
HAVN Life Sciences (CSE:HAVN), a biotechnology company focused on unlocking human potential using evidence-informed research and developing standardized psychoactive compounds derived from plants and fungi, announced a partnership with the Westwood Institute, a veteran’s mental health-focused non-profit founded by Dr. Marvin Westwood. The Institute’s mission is to expand on Dr. Westwood’s work with veterans and empower clinicians around the world with evidence-based interventions and clinical training. Group counselling, trauma treatment and emerging therapies are key pillars of the Institute’s approach.
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