Category Archives: Psychedelics

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc (NASDAQ:MNMD) shares traded higher by 3.3% on Monday after one analyst initiated bullish coverage of the psychedelics stock.

The Analyst:Maxim analyst Jason McCarthy initiated coverage of MindMed with a Buy rating and $6 price target.

The Thesis:McCarthy said MindMed is well-funded, reasonably valued and has plenty of promising research projects in the works.

MindMed has one of the most diverse pipelines in psychedelics and a partnership with a leading research institution to provide exclusive license to data to support continued expansion, McCarthy wrote in a note.

MindMeds leading research program is Project Lucy, a Phase 2a trial of high-dose (experiential) LSD to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In addition, MidMed is developing a LSD neutralizer that could potentially help terminate the drugs psychoactive period and potentially reduce the possibility of adverse events.

EXCLUSIVE: Psychedelics Pioneer J.R. Rahn Unpacks Decision To Leave MindMed As CEO

MindMed is also researching the potential use of LSD in treating ADHD and pain and testing its 18-MC ibogaine derivative for use in treating opioid addiction.

McCarthy is projecting commercialization of MindMeds MM-120 (LSD) for GAD in the U.S. and Europe in 2026 and is factoring in a 60% risk adjustment. He is also projecting commercialization of MM-290 (low dose LSD) for ADHD in the U.S. and Europe in 2027 with an 80% risk adjustment and MM-110 (18-MC) in the U.S. and Europe in 2025 with a 70% risk adjustment.

The company has about $160 million in cash to fund its research, and potential data readouts on its various programs could serve as bullish catalysts for the stock through the end of 2022, McCarthy said.

Benzingas Take: The psychedelics stock group is a small group of public companies working in a very early stage market that is extremely high risk. However, if psychedelics follow the same long-term trajectory that cannabis has, early investors that are willing to stomach the risk and volatility could generate some spectacular long-term gains.

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2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Why This MindMed Analyst Is Bullish: 'One Of The Most Diverse Pipelines In Psychedelics' - Benzinga - Benzinga

The psychedelics movement continues to take hold of the Americas, as more jurisdictions continue to decriminalize the substances, research flourishes and big companies go public.

Since Novemberwhen Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin therapy and decriminalize all drugs, and Washington, D.C. decriminalized all natural psychedelics a legislator in Florida introduced a bill to legalize psilocybin therapy, three cities in Massachusetts decriminalized psychedelics, and the entire state of California might soon do the same, sharedDoubleBlind co-founder and CEO Shelby Hartman. As reform sweeps the country, and federally-approved psychedelic research plows ahead, we take a moment in this issue to reflect on what were really trying to accomplish. Mental health? Collective, social healing? Or perhaps bothand much more.

DoubleBlind Issue 05 dives deep into what it means to live psychedelically: It provokes questions we may ask ourselves, like who we are and how we move through the world when we are in our deepest moments of clarity.

These questions are coming to the fore. In forcing us inside our homes and insideourselves, the pandemic led many toquestion our values and now we're doing so in the psychedelic community, too. As we hurtle into the future with the toppling of prohibition, decriminalization measures across the country, and the fast pace at which more and more companies are developing psychedelic medicine, now is prime time to investigate the values of the psychedelic space, and how we want to live according to the spirit of these medicines.

In the issue, DoubleBlind explores the future of MDMA godfather Sasha Shulgin's legacy, what happens when psychedelics throw us into spiritual crisisas well as the iconography of Mexican curandera Maria Sabina and what she represents to the psychedelic movement as a whole.

The magazine also features columns by Francoise Bourzat, author of ConsciousnessMedicine

who offers her prayer for the forthcoming psychedelic industry: that sacred medicines are not reduced to medication for mental health as well as from Ismail Ali, a lawyer for MAPS, who makes a poignant case for what spiritual practice, regardless of its origin, might look like when put to work in the world. His column is aptly titled "Islamhuasca."

Find the magazine following this link.

And more from DoubleBlind in Spanish on El Planteo:

Cmo Sobrellevar un Mal Viaje de Psicodlicos

Gua Prctica: Cmo Secar Hongos Psicodlicos

Microdosis de Psicodlicos para la Ansiedad: lo que Debes Saber

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What It Means To Live 'Psychedelically:' DoubleBlind Mag #05 Dives Deep Into The Topic - Benzinga - Benzinga

Posted on June 25, 2021

DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF)-Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that will allow for the study of psychedelics as a treatment for PTSD in veterans.

Under the new psychedelics law, Texas will study potential benefits and risks of magic mushrooms, ketamine and MDMA- but it will be controlled dosing.

A lot of people think of ketamine as a club drug, which it is, but thats not what theyre talking about when they are using ketamine for depression. Its done in a clinical setting, under medical supervision, the dosing is controlled the supply chain is verified, said Joe Schrank, addiction specialist and program director for The Heavenly Center.

The law is receiving support from veterans groups, including mental health advocacy group VETS. Additionally, days before this bill was signed into law,Gov. Abbott also signed a bill that will expand Texas medical marijuana program.

The more we research, the more we find there are many other options for health and well being.Were in a massive mental health crisis and must be open to all potential options.This is paradoxical to Americas current drug policy but we have to keep in mind the war on drugs has now been a 50 year waste of time and money inflicting harm on the culture. More research should be done, but we shouldnt reject this as a possible help, saysSchrank.

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New TX Law Allows for Study of Psychedelics as Treatment for Veterans with PTSD - WBAP News/Talk

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEO is pleased to welcome Vancouver-based Filament Health Corp. (Filament), an exclusively-natural psychedelic drug discovery and extraction technology company, to the NEO Exchange. Filament began trading today under the symbol FH.

With a robust and innovative IP portfolio, accomplished management team, in-house GMP manufacturing capabilities, and a Health Canada psilocybin Dealers License, Filament is focused on addressing the current mental health crisis.

Listing on NEO, a senior exchange with high governance requirements, helps to establish Filament as a leader in the psychedelics industry, remarked Filament CEO, Benjamin Lightburn. NEO has proven to be a strong and supportive partner to innovative companies like Filament. The capital access made possible by this going-public transaction allows us to further our mission of getting safe, natural psychedelics into the hands of everyone who needs them, as soon as possible.

Investors can trade shares of FH through their usual investment channels, including discount brokerage platforms and full-service dealers.

Filaments debut on the NEO Exchange marks our fifth corporate listing in the psychedelics space, noted Jos Schmitt, President and CEO. Between both of our companies, we share a relentless pursuit of innovation, and NEO is thrilled to welcome a fellow disruptor to our ranks. Filament will benefit from the many advantages of being listed on a Tier 1 stock exchange, including unparalleled service and support, increased access to institutional investors, and enhanced transparency and quality of trading. We look forward to showing the world that NEO is the place to be for industry-defining companies in the innovation economy.

Filaments debut on the NEO Exchange follows other recent issuers in the psychedelics industry including Awakn Life Sciences Corp., Mydecine Innovations Group, Cybin Inc., and MindMed, the worlds first-ever psychedelics company to go public.

NEO is home to more than 140 corporate and ETF listings, and consistently facilitates close to 15% of all Canadian trading volume. Click here for a complete view of all NEO-listed securities.

About the NEO Exchange

The NEO Exchange is Canadas Tier 1 stock exchange for the innovation economy, bringing together investors and capital raisers within a fair, liquid, efficient, and service-oriented environment. Fully operational since June 2015, NEO puts investors first and provides access to trading across all Canadian-listed securities on a level playing field. NEO lists companies and investment products seeking an internationally recognized stock exchange that enables investor trust, quality liquidity, and broad awareness including unfettered access to market data.

Connect with NEO: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

About Filament Health Corp.

Filament is an exclusively-natural psychedelic drug discovery and extraction technology company. Its mission is to see safe, approved, natural psychedelics in the hands of everyone who needs them as soon as possible. Filament believes measurable and efficacious medicines will be a catalyst to addressing many of the worlds mental health problems and that natural psychedelics provide an optimal option for widespread adoption of these substances. Filament engages in natural extraction technology and commercialization, utilizing its intellectual property portfolio, in-house good manufacturing practices capabilities, and a Health Canada psilocybin Dealers License. Filament is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Connect with Filament: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Newsletter

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Exclusively-Natural Psychedelic Pharma Company, Filament Health, Lists on the NEO Exchange - Business Wire

June22, 20214 min read

Shares were priced at $15, the high end of the projected range, with 15 million shares changing hands. All the newly public shares were offered by the company, rather than other individual or institutional owners.

The company now has a market capitalization of $3.1 billion, placing it in mid-cap territory.

The stock climbed as high as $22.91 in the session, closing at $19.45. Trading above the IPO price is a good indication of demand for a new issue.

Atai focuses on the use of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions. Its considered a clinical-stage biotech. The company does not yet have regulators OK to move forward with treatments.

According to a company press release, Atai was founded in 2018 as a response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape, as well as the emergence of therapies that previously may have been overlooked or underused, including psychedelic compounds and digital therapeutics. Atai is headquartered in Berlin, with offices in New York and London.

Currently, the treatments and molecules the company is developing are in Phase II clinical trials.

Atais public debut follows that of two other biotechs specializing in psychedelics. New York-based Mind Medicine (NASDAQ: MNMD), which went public in April, and U.K.-based Compass Pathways (NASDAQ: CMPS), which made its debut in September.

Atia owns about a quarter of outstanding shares of Compass Pathways.

All these young companies are developing treatments using LSD and MDMA derivatives, in addition to the psychedelic mushroom compound, psilocybin, to treat mental illnesses such as anxiety, schizophrenia, depression and other conditions. These new meds also have promise for treating addiction.

Atai has 10 therapeutic treatments in the pipeline.

Compass Pathways, the first of the three psychedelic-focused companies to go public, is focused on development for untreatable depression using psilocybin mushrooms.

Its become well known that the pandemic accelerated mental health problems around the world. While the pharmaceutical industry has been developing antidepressants and other medications for decades, many patients find the existing meds dont work.

Thats where the promise of mushrooms and the other psychedelics comes into play.

Compass treatments are currently in Phase II trials, with results expected to be released later this year.

As with cannabis, medicinal use of psychedelics has been hamstrung by governmental restrictions. However, major universities, such as the University of California, Yale and Johns Hopkins are conducting research into the role of psychedelics in psychological treatment.

For example, studies have shown that MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy or Molly, has potential for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although the industry shows a great deal of potential, these stocks harken back to the early days of publicly traded cannabis companies. These are small companies, with little trading history, scant analyst coverage and little institutional investment.

For example, at Compass Pathways, insiders own 31% of shares, with mutual funds holding just 13%. The number of funds owning shares held steady at 29 for the quarters ending in December in March. Thats not so surprising, given that the stock has a market cap of just $1.43 billion and is so new to the public markets.

Compass is not yet a buyable stock, as its still finding its way as a newly public company. After its IPO, the stock rallied to a high of $61.69 on December 14, then pulled into a new correction. It hit resistance at $58.62 in February, and has been etching a base since then.

Until theres a definitive uptrend, the stock remains one to watch, not buy.

As for Mind Medicine, its forming its first post-IPO base and also merits watching. None of the three newly public psychedelic companies are expected to show any earnings in the foreseeable future, so all of these would be speculative buys at this time.

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Atai Goes Public With Promising New Mental-Health Treatments Based On Psychedelics - Entrepreneur

Jonathan Bixby and Mike Edwards, the duo thats taken public companies involved in cryptocurrencies, e-sports and cannabis, are back with a fourth London listing in eight months. This time, its psychedelics.

Clarify Pharma invests in biotech and life-sciences companies seeking to prove the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-based substances. It raised 1.96 million pounds ($2.3 million) on the Aquis Stock Exchange, a small U.K. bourse. The stock opened at 2.77 pence, up 11% from the 2.50 pence listing price.

Marijuanas regulatory headway for medicinal use in recent years has paved the way for a flurry of initial public offerings in the U.K. Dozens of startups are betting on a similar legal shift for psychedelic substances, which are being used to develop treatments for illnesses like depression and anxiety.

Scientific evidence is mounting that drugs like psilocybin, an ingredient in magic mushrooms, or Ibogaine, used in ayahuasca-style ceremonies, can be used in mental health treatment. But with so much legal uncertainty, most institutional funds prefer to stay on the sidelines for now.

U.K. investors want to wait and see how the regulatory environment develops, especially given the long timeline for profitability in the psychedelic-based pharma market, said Bixby, who is also executive chairman at Clarify.

Read More: Why Psychedelics, Big in 1960s, Draw New Interest Now: QuickTake

Pushing investors comfort zones is nothing new for Bixby and Edwards, who listed Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain Plc in London in 2018. The once little-known company has been swept up in the digital currencys recent boom, sending its shares soaring more than 3,000% over the past year.

Investors want to put money in big stories and bold vision, Bixby said of his IPO streak, adding that hes working on bringing other companies to market in the gaming, fintech and healthtech sectors.

To be sure, their latest ventures havent all fared as well. NFT Investments Plc, which floated on the Aquis Stock Exchange in April to invest in blockchain-minted unique digital tokens, has fallen 37% below its IPO price.

They also started Guild Esports Plc, which went public in October and counts retired soccer star David Beckham among its investors, and Cellular Goods Plc, a synthetic cannabinoid products maker that listed on the London Stock Exchange in February. Guild Esports has fallen 2.5% since its debut, while Cellular Goods shares have risen 39%.

With assistance by Benedikt Kammel

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Crypto, Cannabis Backers Turn to Psychedelics With New UK IPO - Bloomberg

Dr. Deepak Chopra

The year was 1965 and a 17-year-old Deepak Chopra was in his first year of medical school in India and intrigued by a call for students to join a psychedelic experiment on campus. The institute he attended in New Delhi, partially funded by the Rockefeller Foundation at the time, included a group of American professors and exchange students from Harvard University. Back in Cambridge, two young psychologists, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, were at the same time exploring the effects of psychotropic substances on the human mind. One drug they were tinkering with was the psychedelic called LSD.

Hearing about those psychedelic studies on campus in India, Chopra relates that he was immediately game. The research experiment, comprised of a group of medical students half American, half Indian would have them all under the influence of LSD and asked to view a poster of Mother Teresa.

In the news there was this myth or maybe it was true that Mother Teresa was licking the wounds of children with leprosy, and they were being healed, Chopra recently told Forbes. I was very curious about that. So we took this LSD together, the professor and medical students, and we were asked to look at the poster. And I have never felt such a deep empathy and compassion as I felt then. I was crying. I just wanted to leave medical school and become a volunteer for Mother Teresa. It influenced the whole trajectory of my life, because, you know, medicine is not about just treating people. It's about healing suffering.

Chopra says following that experience using psychedelics, he didn't have any desire to have another LSD experience. One profound trip was enough. He credits that experience with having a significant impact on him as a physician and a first step in many that led him to his eventual status as a powerhouse advocate for mindfulness and meditation. With countless bestselling books and seminars under his belt, and a popular nonprofit (The Chopra Foundation), which seeks to help at-risk children, low-income women, and prisoners, Dr. Chopras name has become synonymous in the West with mind-body practices on health and wellbeing.

His encounter as an inquisitive teenager in medical school is now, over 50 years later, being proven out in research that illustrates the effectiveness of psychotropic drugs as therapies for mental trauma. Rigorous studies at Johns Hopkins University, NYU Langone, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (and a host of other prominent institutions globally) are showing psychedelic drugs can ease the crushing symptoms of depression, PTSD, and addiction.

Now the guru of unleashing your infinite potential has put the might of The Chopra Foundation to work alongside MindMed, a clinical-stage psychedelic medicine biotech company, which in April commenced trading on Nasdaq. Their collaboration seeks to educate and build public awareness around the use of psychedelic medicines to treat mental illness, remove outdated stigmas, and ultimately research mental wellbeing approaches that can be used in psychedelic-related psychotherapy. To date, MindMed has raised $204 million and assembled a compelling drug development pipeline of treatments based on psychedelic substances including LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, DMT and the ibogaine derivative, 18-MC.

Asked how he thinks his very public support for psychedelic therapies will be viewed by the mainstream audience that knows him best from the likes of The Oprah Winfrey Show, he is bold and enthusiastic. One of his main goals with the MindMed venture is to help remove the negative association around psychedelic drugs as medicine. I have a bit of a reputation for being a renegade anyway, says Chopra with a smile, and I've been talking about this stuff for over 40 years, ever since my own first experience with LSD in medical school. I don't mind helping remove stigma around controversial issues. And there's been a lot of stigma around psychedelics, number one. Also, a lot of stigma around depression and mental illness and suicide. And I think that's a shame because science should not be influenced by stigma or personal opinion.

Prior to the 1970s, drug research in the U.S. was not as politicized of an issue as it is today. Research back then was propelled far more by science and objectivity rather than opinion and ideology. All that research hit the skids after the sweeping Controlled Substances Act in 1971 and Richard Nixons doomed War On Drugs. One swipe of a pen in American politics impeded scientific progress in the field for nearly 50 years. The research has been hampered by people who have no idea about the science and yet the science suffers, says Chopra. So, you know, I feel at my age particularly now, I can be totally honest about how I feel about whatever and that's wonderful.

Popular opinion seems to be behind Chopra, having morphed over a half a century. More minds are now open to the idea of psychedelics being added to the mental health toolkit, thanks to scientific rigor.

MindMed CEO J.R. Rahn says a key challenge he now faces is winning hearts and minds. I think one of the biggest problems as a company that we deal with is the stigma around psychedelics, says Rahn. I think the only way to overcome that is to get popular opinion to understand the benefits, which will be proven by clinical trials, but also through thought leaders like Deepak Chopra. That's the first part of this collaboration. Let's have a conversation about this. Let's make it the conversation in every house in America and give psychedelics a second shot.

MindMed CEO J.R. Rahn

So much of the conversation around psychedelic treatments is about health and happiness topics that Dr. Chopra is expert at having on a global scale. (My goal is to reach at least a billion people, hes famously said.) The way we think, the way we eat, the way we behave, all can influence our lives, says Chopra. Psychedelic therapy is just another piece of the wellbeing puzzle.

The combination of psychedelics, psychotherapy, food, diet, behavior modification, yoga, all this becomes a very holistic way of actually stimulating healing in the body, he says, and references the polyvagal theory. This theory is how various modalities can increase vagal tone, which overrides sympathetic overdrive. This is the basis of all inflammation, stress and depression.

MindMed CEO J.R. Rahn and Deepak Chopra, M.D.

The partnership between MindMed and The Chopra Foundation comes shortly after MindMeds $5 million donation to NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine. Rahn notes that it will help to establish a psychedelic-based training program for clinical investigators skilled in the study of psychedelic-inspired treatments for serious mental health needs. The donation will also help advance and deploy an emerging category of medicines, including psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder and MindMed's ibogaine-derived molecule 18-MC for opioid use disorder patients.

Chopra acknowledges that psychedelics are not a panacea. Like much of his philosophy, he sees them as part of a broader holistic plan. Rahn echoes that sentiment, saying, Ultimately, we believe psychedelics can act as catalysts in a persons journey toward their best health.

At 74 years old, Chopra says he feels better than he did at 17 in medical school. His mission to foster health and happiness, and to help relieve suffering, resonates with his supporters. And theres a reason for that. Its clear he cares for them. You know, doctors often say, I practice or I treat, they never say, I heal, says Chopra. A person, if he's a doctor, he should come with deep compassion, deep empathy, deep love, and I'm grateful for that.

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Deepak Chopra On MindMed Partnership, How Psychedelics Influenced The Trajectory Of His Life - Forbes

Psychedelics ETFs Are Gaining TractionDefiance ETFs launched the Next Gen Altered Experience ETF, the first U.S.-listed ETF that zeroes in on the psychedelics industry.

The fund went public on the NYSE Arca exchange under the ticker PSY, carrying net assets of around $2.59 million distributed between psychedelics and cannabis companies.

A passive ETF, PSY follows the BITA Medical Psychedelics, Cannabis and Ketamine Index.

Sylvia Jablonski, CIO of Defiance, said the companies included need to fulfillthe minimum requirements established by SEC regulations for ETFs in the U.S., thus a number of low market-cap companies had to be left out.

We have every pure company that does psychedelics research in our ETF that has a 70 million market cap and a five hundred average daily volume, said Jablonski, speaking ona panel at the virtual Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on Friday.

PSY carries 21 companies, out of which 35% are psychedelics companies, including Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS), MindMed (NASDAQ:MNMD), Numinus (TSXV:NUMI) Cybin (NEO: CYBN) (OTCQB:CLXPF), Field Trip Health (CSE:FTRP) (OTCQX:FTRPF) and Red Light Holland (Canada: TRIP) (OTC:TRUFF). The remaining 65% is covered by companies in the medical cannabis space.

As soon as other [psychedelics] companies get further investment and to a point where they can comply with the rules, were definitely going to include them. Our goal is to have the purest psychedelics ETF out there, Jablonski said.

Horizons Psychedelics ETF Gets a Restructuring: Horizons announced changes to the index methodology for its North American Psychedelics Index, which will take place on June 7.

The index, which is followed by the Horizons Psychedelic Stock Index ETF (NEO: PSYK), namely the first psychedelics ETF to go public, is upsizing many of its entry requirementsin order to enhance diversification while improving the size and liquidity of its constituents.

Some of the requirements being altered for new entrants include an increase in the minimum float market-cap from CA$25 million ($20.6 million) to CA$40 million ($33.1 million), an increase in the minimum 3-month average daily traded value from CA$125,000 to CA$300,000 and a minimum share price going from CA$0.10 to CA$0.50.

A bill to expand research on psychedelic medicine was approved by the Texas legislature and is headed to the desk of Gov.Greg Abbott for his signature.

HB 1802 directs the Department of State Health Services and Texas Medical Board to conduct a study that evaluates the therapeutic efficacy of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine in the treatment of mental health disorders and other medical conditions in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine.

Ailments taken into account include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, chronic pain and migraines, though the legislation places special focus on veterans suffering from PTSD.

In California, a bill to remove penalties on psychedelic substances was approved by the state senate in a 21-16 vote on Wednesday.

We just had a huge win. SB519 passed the full state senate, and is now on its way to the assembly, said the bills author, Sen. Scott Wiener.

If approved, the bill would remove penalties for the possession, personal use and social sharing of certain natural and synthetic psychoactive drugs including psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, LSD, ketamine and MDMA.

The original legislation included measures to expunge the criminal records of those charged with low-level psychedelics convictions. However, the approved bill was amended to remove those provisions.

Meanwhile, in New York, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal has introduced a bill that would require the state to research the therapeutic effects of psychedelic substances.

The bill would establish a psychedelic research institute and a therapeutic research program to study and provide recommendations on the use of psychedelic substances in the treatment of addictive disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety and other ailments.

Rosenthal had introducedseparate legislation in March, which could remove psilocybin and psilocin from the list of controlled substances in New York.

Albert Labs, a psychedelics company using real-world evidence data to accelerate psychedelics research, announced it hadbegun initial applications with the CSE to go public via an RTO with ME Resource Corp.

Silo Wellness Inc. (CSE:SILO) announced a binding letter of intent with Mushe Inc. to open the first legal functional and psychedelic mushroom store in the Americas. Based in Jamaica, the smart shop would leverage Silos mushroom cultivation capabilities in the Caribbean country, as well as the countrys lack of prosecution laws for psilocybin and magic mushrooms.

Mindset Pharma Inc. (CSE:MSET) (OTCQB:MSSTF) has selected its lead clinical candidate, MSP-1014, to move forward into good manufacturing practice (cGMP), compliant manufacturing and investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies. MSP-1014, a psilocybin analog, has shown superior preclinical characteristics in head-to-head comparison with psilocybin including increased safety and efficacy, Mindset CEOJames Lanthier explained.

COMPASS Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS) released further results from a recent phase I study on its proprietary psilocybin formulation showing that the compound had no negative effect on cognitive function.

Filament Ventures Corp., an exclusively natural psychedelic drug discovery and extraction company, announced a CA$10 million ($8.2 million) offering related to its future listing on the NEO exchange under the symbol FH. Proceeds will be used to fund clinical trials, R&D, intellectual property initiatives, working capital and other purposes. Approximately 20 million units will be sold at a price of between CA$0.40 to CA$0.50 per unit.

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Psyched: First Psychedelics ETF Comes To The US, Bills Move Forward In Texas, California and New York - Benzinga

CALGARY -- A first of its kind in Canada research chair is being established in Calgary to oversee exploration into the potential use of psychedelics to improve mental health.

The Parker Psychedelic Research Chair is being funded by Calgary businessman Jim Parker, who donated $3 million to the Hotchkiss Brain Institute to establish the program.

Parkers interest in psychedelics came after his 21-year-old niece Courtney was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Trapped in her home and paralyzed by flashbacks, she was afraid to leave the house and was unable to study for school. She saw a doctor and trauma counsellor, and was prescribed medication to help her overcome the PTSD. She says the treatment did little but left her feeling numb and unable to heal.

"I was very concerned about Courtney and, in 2018, I started reading the psychedelics-related research papers out of Johns Hopkins, Imperial College and others," said Parker. "The data was showing that psychedelics were providing benefits to people suffering from anxiety, depression, addiction and PTSD.

"At that time there werent any options for this type of treatment in Canada, so we decided together on a clinic in California."

Parker helped Courtney book into the stateside clinic offering psychedelic therapy and she received five rounds of intravenous ketamine therapy. The treatments were carefully dosed and conducted under medical supervision.

"They took me into a room with a chair and sleeping mask and headphones with spa music. The ketamine took me out of body youre able to see your trauma from a third-party perspective, which was really helpful," explained Courtney. "For the first time, I could see myself from a place of compassion. It was not easy to go through, but it was definitely beneficial."

Courtney says she has returned to living a full and happy life post-treatment. While she still sees her doctor and therapist, she has stopped taking many of the medications and is set to graduate with honours from business school thisyear.

After seeing the positive effect thetreatments had on his niece, Parker was motivated to bring the treatments to Canada and help people here

"She tried everything she possibly could and it wasn't working," said Parker. "Then this did work, and it really was transformational. I had read the research but to see firsthand how these treatments helped Courtney was amazing.

"We need research to better understand the safety and efficacy of these treatments in order to gain mainstream acceptance and maximize the benefits."

In the United States, the medical use of psychedelics has been given 'breakthrough status' by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations to fast track work into this area of treatment for mental health issues.

"The use of psychedelics is pretty new and there's a strong body of evidence to support its use in some ways, and in some conditions," said Dr. Valerie Taylor, professor and head of the department of psychiatry at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine

"That being said, it's far from a slam dunk. We need bigger trials, we need well-designed trials, and we need to really investigate who this works for, and who it doesn't. That's why the Parker Chair in Psychedelics, which is the first of its kind in Canada, is really going to be instrumental in our broadening minds around, not justthis new therapy, but looking at other new therapies as well."

Parker is also starting a private clinic in Calgary, aiming to provide a place where people can receive legal ketamine assisted therapy, and participate in research trials with other psychedelics.

"The idea is to start with what we can use legally, which is ketamine. The setting, and the model of therapy would be very similar in the future for psilocybin and MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine),"said Parker. "There's a lot of research going on in those areas. So I think we can expect that there's a good chance that we can use those substances or medicines in the near future."

There is already one clinic in the Calgary area providing psychedelic treatment under licence from Health Canada.

Atma Urban Journey Clinic uses magic mushrooms in its therapy. Under federal legislation, it is presently only allowed to offer psychedelic treatment to terminally ill patients. David Harder, the clinic's founder, says overcoming the misguided perception of psychedelics often seen as 'illicit drugs' is perhaps the biggest advance the U of C research chair might make.

"The stigma is still pretty high. Although what we're seeing in the last year, even in 12 months, I would say the stigma has dropped by half," said Harder. "Psychedelics have just been suppressed for so long. It's frustrating to me that we're doing this so that we can convince Health Canada to make it legal. It should be where we should be doing this so that we can find new and interesting ways of applying these things."

The university is currently recruiting worldwide for a candidate to fill the position of chair of psychedelic research. The competition closes on Jun 30

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Calgary businessman, U of C partner for exploration into psychedelics as mental health treatment for Canadians - CTV Toronto

5-MeO-DMT is a potent and fast-acting psychedelic, which is naturally produced by the Sonoran Desert toad as well as some species of plants.

Its short duration from 20 minutes to one hour is giving hope toresearchers and executives in the psychedelics space who are seekingan alternative to the otherwise lengthy treatment sessions of psilocybin and MDMA.

Beckley Psytech, a British psychedelics research company andthe for-profit arm of the Beckley Foundation, is advancing a research program on 5-MeO-DMT that involves a phase 1 clinical trial and development of a synthetic formulation of the substance.

Led by legendary psychedelics researcher and activist Amanda Feilding, the Beckley Foundation was launched in the late 90s as an initiative to prompt drug policy reform and scientific research into psychoactive substances.

In 2020, Beckley Psytech raised over 17 million ($24 million) to fund the 5-MeO-DMT research program.

CEO Cosmo Feilding Mellen told Benzinga that the first goal of the company is to apply an intranasal formulation in the treatment of depression and eventually move over to other mental health indications.

Feilding Mellen is very bullish on psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy as a potential treatment for a wide variety of mental health disorders. Today, MDMA and psilocybin remain the most researched molecules in the clinical trial pipeline.

Yet the executive fears that the resources needed to apply psilocybin and MDMA treatment could be greater than todays mental health infrastructure can handle.

The challenge that will be faced, we foresee, is in the patient access side of the treatment, Feilding Mellen said.

Regardless of theclinical success of psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, he argues thatrequiring one or even two therapists to accompany a patient throughout an 8to 10-hour session (recommended byresearch protocols) isvery resource-intensive for an already overworked and undersupplied mental health workforce.

That's going to potentially pose a major roadblock for patient access because there is already a shortage of psychotherapists to administer normal hour-long psychotherapy sessions for those in need.

These issues prompted BeckleyPsytech to lookinto other psychedelics that can induce a comparable experience with a shorter duration.

The reason that 5-MeO-DMT is particularly interesting in our view is that what we know about it from the real world use is that it's known to induce profound psychedelic experiences in the patients, Feilding Mellen said.

These types of experiences seem to correlate with positive therapeutic outcomes in clinical research around psilocybin and LSD, though with much shorter duration of effect.

If Beckley Psytech is able to show that 5-MeO-DMT can have similar efficacy topsilocybin, with sessions that last one hour instead of an entireday, the company could argue that 5-MeO-DMT is a better molecule for facilitating patient access.

Beckley Psytech has partnered with Fluence, a New York start-up, which isfocused on providing professional training in psychedelic therapy.

Theseorganizations are seekinga specific therapy programtailored to the 5-MeO-DMT experience.

The role of Fluence is to create the psychotherapy manual and to train the study clinicians on that manual to be able to deliver the treatment in a research setting, said Dr. Ingmar Gorman, co-founder of Fluence, who hasextensive experience training therapists to guide sessions with psilocybin and MDMA.

Gorman points out, however, that5-Meo-DMT is very different. This is partly because of itsadministrationbut also because of its tendency to induce very powerful experiences.

Theshort duration, Gorman noted, can make experiences with 5-MeO-DMT especially challenging to integrate.

One of the aspects that we are working with is the reliability of 5-MeO-DMT to induce a mystical experience or an experience of intense ego dissolution. And so it's important in our work to both prepare the participants for that experience and also to prepare the therapists, Gorman explained.

5-MeO-DMT has often been presented in the media as capable of producing states of perceptual void or nothingness that can be frightening to some people.

However, an analysis of real-world data conducted by Beckley learned that psilocybin and LSD are more often associated with fear or anxiety-inducing experiences than 5-MeO-DMT when used in an informal context.

When psilocybin and LSD have been taken into clinical research, where you're working in a much more controlled and safe clinical setting, those adverse events have been massively reduced and we hope to replicate that kind of reduction in adverse events by taking 5-MeO-DMT into a very carefully controlled clinical setting, Feilding Mellen said.

Fluences Gorman agreed.It's very hard to begin to make distinctions qualitatively when these substances are not really well researched in clinical trials.There's a lot of anecdotal evidence about what these experiences are like," he explained.

"But what Beckley Psytech is doing is starting off with a Phase 1 study, which means just looking at the effects in healthy volunteers to be able to determine a dose response.

Feilding Mellen pointed toa number of reasons for choosing 5-MeO-DMT over DMT.

DMT is another psychedelic molecule of the tryptamine class, which is the main active ingredient in Ayahuasca, a traditional indigenous concoction used by some tribes in the Amazon.

The compound is also praised for its powerful fast-acting and short-lasting psychedelic effect.

Though similar in presentation and chemical structure, these two substances are believed to offer distinct therapeutic potentials.

The experience itself with 5-MeO-DMT is characterized by being quite nonvisual,

whereas DMT is exactly the opposite, characterized by being extremely visual, Feilding Mellen said. Headded thatthe companys scientific advisory board viewed visual hallucinations as a distractive element in psychedelics therapy that could lead to a reduction in therapeutic outcomes for patients.

Visual hallucinations can cause patients to forgo the introspective nonvisual work required for the treatment to induce a positive effect.

On top of that, the real-world data that we've looked at points to the fact that 5-MeO-DMT seems to more reliably induce the ego dissolution or mystical experience that seems to correlate with the treatment outcomes, Feilding Mellen concluded.

The company expects to begin clinical trials on healthy volunteers in 2021.

Photo: Colorado river toad seen at Zoo Zurich, Switzerland. By Kuhnmion Wikimedia Commons.

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Psychedelic Compound 5-MeO-DMT Could Make Therapy Short And Effective: Beckley Psytech Is 'All In' - Benz - Benzinga