The mental health treatment space is heading into a period of incredible innovation. New therapies and unconventional pharmaceuticals are receiving serious attention from researchers and key governing bodies, and the result could be a whole new world of options for improving the quality of life for individuals dealing with mental health disorders. Previously stigmatized drugs are now becoming better understood for their healing capabilities when used under professional therapeutic supervision and holistic approaches to treatment could revolutionize mental healthcare. As the world of mental healthcare evolves, companies like Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV:NUMI) (OTCPK:LKYSF), Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS), GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI), and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) are helping to make this change happen.
Numinus Wellness Shares Promising Developments
Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV:NUMI) (OTCPK:LKYSF) is an integrated mental health company engaged in advancing innovative mental health treatments like psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy using an evidence-based approach to research and development. The company is organized into three segments. Numinus Health delivers innovative treatments to address physical, mental, and emotional health, through clinics and virtual services. Numinus R&D handles implementation science, while Numinus Bioscience conducts applied research and IP development out of the company’s state-of-the-art research lab in British Columbia, Canada. Numinus is engaged in several promising studies and clinical trials, often in partnership with world renowned organizations like the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).
On March 4, Numinus announced that it had received new amendments to the company’s license under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that enhance the Company’s ability to conduct psychedelics research. These amendments allow the company to possess, produce, assemble, sell, export and deliver a range of psychedelics, including ketamine and LSD. These new capabilities are in addition to the company’s previous license for activities related to mescaline, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), N-Methyl-3,4, methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDMA), psilocin, and psilocybin.
“These amendments are not just exciting for Numinus and our researchers, but also for our partners, clients and potentially academic collaborators in the psychedelics space,” Sharan Sidhu, Science Officer and General Manager for Numinus Bioscience, said in the company’s release. “The amendments dramatically expand the work we can do with a far larger group of psychedelics, and open up market-leading and revenue-generating opportunities for Numinus in R&D, psychedelic formulations, research and analysis. Moreover, we can now develop and implement standardized psychedelics testing on top of our existing high throughput capabilities, and formulate and produce psychedelic compounds in finished packaged products for clinical trials, clinical use under exemption, and export.”
On March 2, Numinus and global contract research and clinical trial organization Syreon Corporation shared details on the significant progress the two organizations have made on a joint single-arm, open-label compassionate access trial on Psilocybin-Research Intervention with Motivational Enhancement for substance use disorders. Numinus says that the protocol for the study is now finalized and peer reviewed, and has been determined to be consistent with current best practices for psilocybin-assisted treatment. The study will take place in Vancouver and will enroll 30 individuals with opioid, stimulant, and/or alcohol use disorders.
“Syreon is pleased to partner with Numinus to conduct this ground-breaking study in substance use disorders,” says Paul Keown, founder and CEO of Syreon. “These are among the most complex and challenging areas of modern healthcare, with enormous clinical and societal consequences. Psilocybin is a promising new therapy for personalized care in this field, and Numinus and Syreon combine the deep medical knowledge and broad trial expertise required for expert research in this expanding area of natural bioactive therapeutics.”
Innovative Treatments Are Changing the Biotech Space
Biotech companies are increasingly looking to innovative treatments like MDMA and ketamine as alternative treatments to conditions like treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder to replace conventional treatments like Pfizer Inc’s (NYSE:PFE) Zoloft, which carries concerns for serious mental health side effects. New and innovative mental health treatments have been gaining momentum and legitimacy for years now.
Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS) made history in 2018 when it became the first company to receive breakthrough therapy designation from the Food and Drug Administration for psychedelic medicine. Compass has continued to advance psychedelic medicine in the years since. On February 9 this year, the company announced the expansion of its psychedelic-focused Discovery Center through new collaborations with laboratories at UC San Diego, School of Medicine, and Medical College of Wisconsin.
While psychedelics-based treatments have gained the bulk of the attention recently, other therapeutic treatments have continued to gain ground as well. GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), for example, has done studies looking into alternative ways of treating schizophrenia. A past trial from the company was looking into patients who had previously failed to respond to first line antipsychotic medications and indicated positive proof of concept data.
Biopharmaceutical company Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI) is focused on the development and commercialization of several innovative therapeutics for central nervous system disorders. On February 24, the company announced that following recent completion of its Phase 1 program on a proprietary deuterated form of lumateperone, the company will be developing the drug for the treatment of behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia, the treatment of dementia-related psychosis, and the treatment of certain depressive disorders in the elderly.
As new and innovative treatments gain momentum, companies in the space like Numinus Wellness have the potential to deliver game changing therapies.
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Featured image: DepositPhotos © JanPietruszka
