Psychedelic Medicine Sector

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>>> Psychedelic Medicine Stocks Capture The Attention Of Investors


Mar. 6, 2020

Includes: ACB, AMRS, ARNA, EHVVF, OGI, RVVTF, TLRY, WUHN

Seeking Alpha

by David Kugelman


https://seekingalpha.com/article/4330293-psychedelic-medicine-stocks-capture-attention-of-investors


Psychedelic medicine involves the use of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin (the chemical in magic mushrooms), MDMA, LSD, and ketamine to treat patients with mental health issues.

The big difference between psychedelic medicine and cannabis is the way in which they're used in therapy.

Mind Medicine became the first psychedelics pharmaceutical firm to go public.and involves "Shark Tank" investor Mr. Wonderful Kevin O'Leary and Canopy Growth Corp. CEO Bruce Linton.

The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine is a $17 million research center devoted to studying psychedelic medicine.

Cities like Denver, Oakland, and Santa Cruz voted to decriminalize magic mushrooms.

If you think investors made big money from cannabis stocks, you had better be ready to start buying psychedelic medicine stocks! Psychedelic medicine involves the use of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin (the chemical in magic mushrooms), MDMA, LSD, and ketamine to treat people with depression, addiction, PTSD, ADHD, and the psychological challenges posed by terminal illnesses.

The big difference between psychedelic medicine and cannabis is the way in which they're used in therapy. Psilocybin is used to enhance therapy and is not necessarily the treatment while cannabis mostly treats symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Breakthrough Therapy Designation to both Compass Pathways' and Usona Institute's psilocybin therapy for depression in 2018. Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) ketamine-derived medicine, Spravato, has been available for pain relief for years. In March 2019, the FDA approved Spravato for treatment-resistant depression. This was huge, since ketamine not only has hallucinogenic properties, but is well known as a party drug by its common street names K, Special K, Kit Kat, and Jet, as well as a few others. Last September a group of private donors ponied up $17 million to start the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine, making it what's believed to be the first such research center in the U.S. and the largest research center of its kind in the world. Just as we saw with cannabis, voters in cities like Denver, Oakland, and Santa Cruz voted to decriminalize magic mushrooms.

There are several private companies like ATAI Life Sciences and COMPASS Pathways making headway in the psychedelic medicine space. Investors are looking for ways to profit, so let's take a look at a few of the publicly traded psychedelic medicine companies.

First, and most obvious, is Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (NEO:MMED) (OTC:MMEDF), which became the first psychedelics pharmaceutical firm to go public. MindMed involves "Shark Tank" investor Mr. Wonderful Kevin O'Leary and Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE:CGC) CEO Bruce Linton, so that alone has investors excited. MindMed raised $24.2 million privately before it came public March 3, 2020 on the NEO Exchange. Investors are bidding the shares up, since Canopy Growth and GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) both delivered 1,000% plus returns for investors that bought their IPOs.

MindMed came public via a reverse merger with Broadway Gold Mining Ltd. and has traded between C$0.24 and C$0.64 with a current market cap in excess of C$115 million. At present, MindMed is preparing 18-MC, its lead development drug development program, for a Phase 2 clinical trial, planned to begin in the fourth quarter. 18-MC is a non-hallucinogenic drug candidate, based on the psychedelic substance ibogaine, which in extensive preclinical research has shown promise for helping to curb addictions. MindMed is also preparing to conduct a Phase 2 LSD microdosing clinical trial for adult ADHD, expected to begin later this year.

Here are a few words of caution on MindMed. It is very difficult for U.S. investors to buy a stock on the Canadian Neo Exchange. Many U.S. investors in search of the next big thing are snapping up shares of MMEDF on the U. S. OTC Gray Market. According to OTC Markets, Grey Market, "OTC" or "Other OTC" is a security that is not currently traded on the OTCQX, OTCQB or Pink markets. Broker-dealers are not willing or able to publicly quote OTC securities because of a lack of investor interest, company information availability or regulatory compliance. Also, MindMed filings on SEDAR reference an email address at the domain savanthwp.com. This is worth looking into, since on closing the transaction, Savant Addiction Medicine, LLC, received Multiple Voting Shares for each share of MindMed PrivateCo that it held immediately prior to completion of the transaction. Savant Addiction Medicine, LLC is currently the only holder of Multiple Voting Shares. All other former MindMed private company shareholders received Subordinate Voting Shares.

Ehave, Inc. (OTCPK:EHVVF) just announced plans to enter the $88 billion mental health market with plans to acquire 100% of PsychedeliTech, a division of Israel based Israel Cannabis Limited ("iCAN"). Ehave management believes PsychedeliTech could be a leader in the commercialization of research into psychedelics for the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. Ehave, Inc. and PsychedeliTech intend to create an ecosystem to nurture the development of therapies using psychedelics. The ecosystem includes clinical trials, biosynthesis of psychedelic compounds, E-commerce, CPG'S, supply, dosage, delivery, data, conferences and business intelligence.

PsychedeliTech is also involved in the inaugural PsyTech Summit, which will take place June 14th and 15th, 2020 at the Hilton Hotel, on the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel. Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) will be the gathering's keynote speaker. The landmark event will bring together scientists, innovators, regulators, investors, and advocates from around the world to expand minds to the potential of psychedelic medicine. Ehave also plans to drive researchers to its Ehave Connect mental health informatics platform. According to the Company, Ehave's Dashboard allows clinicians to make objective, data-driven decisions while keeping patients informed and engaged throughout their mental healthcare journey. Ehave's recently expanded its partnership with BurstIQ to bring its dashboard compliant with both HIPAA and GDPR standards using BlockChain technology. BurstIQ remains the only blockchain platform to receive compliance certification under SOC 2 Type 2 audit requirements.

Revival Therapeutics (CSE:RVV) (OTCPK:RVVTF) recently announced the acquisition of Psilocin Pharma Corp., which has developed production solutions for the active compound Psilocybin. Psilocin Pharma Corp. has developed 6 formulations under the Hydroxy Line including capsules, sublingual spray, gel caps, effervesce tablets, and breath strips. According to the Company, the precisely dosed formulations work with both natural and synthetically derived Psilocybin which will be targeted for clinical research and subject to eventually FDA approval in the treatment of Depression, Anxiety, Bi-polar disorder, Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa. Psilocin Pharma also has strong relationships with specific lab partners in certain areas like Brazil, where these formulations are legally approved and plan to sell products in these jurisdictions. Interesting to note, Psilocin Pharma Corp, a company that was created just 6 days before the LOI was announced.

In April, 2019 Wuhan General Group, Inc. (OTCPK:WUHN) announced that its subsidiary MJ MedTech, Inc. created a new division dedicated to exploring opportunities in the psychedelic medicine space. The new division, M2BIO would be headed up by Wuhan's CMO, Dr. Anna Morera Lorelta. The new division, M2BIO aims to develop new therapies that will help patients who suffer from mental illness and ease the burden on healthcare systems globally. This division will be exploring additional indications for psilocybin, with the goal of bringing new therapies to market. One month later Wuhan General Group announced it had acquired a 49% interest in Cape Town, South Africa based Biodelta Nutraceuticals. According to a press release issued in July 2019, Wuhan General Group and Biodelta Nutraceuticals completed the transaction.

Champignon Brands Inc. (CSE:SHRM) is focused on a mushroom-to-market strategy by offering a range of teas, that make use of functional mushrooms to offer entry-level exposure to the burgeoning boom in mushroom products. Champignon is committed to cultivating and distributing artisanal medical mushrooms and the CPGs derived from those mushrooms. Champignon Brands recently completed its initial public offering of more than 18 million common shares at a price of C$0.15 per share for total gross proceeds of more than $2.8 million. The company's common shares were listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange beginning February 27, 2020. After being halted pending completion of the IPO, the common shares resumed trading on the CSE on March 2, 2020, under the symbol SHRM. The company is also in the process of securing a listing in Germany as it seeks to establish an early presence in both North America and Europe. Roadman Investments Corp. (TSX-V:LITT) is a Canadian-listed venture capital firm that recently invested in Champignon Brands, a British Columbia-based craft mushroom distributor with plans to expand into psilocybin mushrooms.

Companies conducting research on psychedelic medications have caught the attention of cannabis investors, so Psychedelics could become the next big investing opportunity in 2020. There is not a lot of information out there on psychedelic stocks, but a few groups on Twitter seem to provide some insight. Here are just a few @MAPS, @PsyTechSummit, @PspacePship, @TheTripReport1, @InvestmentPsych, @ShroomStreet, and @PsychedelicSto7. The research into psychedelics has shown amazing promise. Unlike cannabis, it is legal for companies to do this kind of research in the United States. Other companies will definitely come into the fray, but these are just a few of the companies in the sector early. There is always the possibility larger cannabis companies like Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA), OrganiGram Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OGI), Amyris Inc. (AMRS) , Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY), and Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) could enter the market.

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