'Psyched': Atai Buys Kures, Beckley Psytech Raises $3.7M, Mydecine Acquires NeuroPharma

PSYCHED is now weekly!

As the psychedelics industry grows, so does the need for news. For this reason, our column covering the most important developments in medicinal psychedelics is now a weekly feature. 

Mydecine To Acquire NeuroPharm

Functional fungi and psychedelics company Mydecine MYCO MYCOF announced Tuesday a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of NeuroPharm, a Canadian developer of psychedelic therapy.

NeuroPharm is focused on the development of treatments to meet the needs of veterans and frontline workers who often experience PTSD, depression, addiction, anxiety, and panic disorders as well as migraine and cluster headaches.

Mydecine will pay NeuroPharm with 9 million common shares valued at CA$0.70 (51 cents) per share, with restrictions on resale for 24 months. Mydecine will continue to fund NeuroPharm’s research for at least 18 months.

Beckley Psytech Raises Over $3M

British psychedelics company Beckley Psytech closed a Series A round of 3 million pounds ($3.77 million).

The proceeds will be used to “develop a pipeline of psychedelic drugs into licensed pharmaceutical medicines for treating psychiatric and neurological diseases.”

Beckley Psytech was co-founded by Lady Amanda Feilding, a English noblewoman who has been a prominent figure in British psychedelic research since the 1960s.

Feilding’s NGO, the Beckley Foundation, launched a cannabinoid research institution with Canopy Growth CGC, Beckley-Canopy Therapeutics, which included the joint commercial venture Spectrum Biomedical UK. Both were fully purchased by Canopy Growth in 2019.

Beckley Psytech said it will utilize its new funding in the research of synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic agent with similar characteristics to DMT that is produced by the Sonoran Desert toad.

Oregon Psilocybin Initiative Makes The Ballot

An initiative to legalize magic mushrooms for therapeutic use has gathered all the necessary requirements to qualify for the November ballot. 

Oregon activists said that the "Yes On IP34" initiative has gathered 164,782 signatures.

Per Marijuana Moment, an application to participate in the upcoming ballot was submitted to the Secretary of State.

The initiative supports safe, legal, regulated access to psilocybin-assisted therapy in licensed settings, with trained facilitators. If the initiative is approved for the ballot and voters say yes, Oregon would become the first U.S. state to allow for legal psilocybin treatment.

Novamind Raises $3.2M, Plans CSE Listing

Mental health and wellness company Novamind Ventures announced the closing of a private placement for CA$4.4 million ($3.2 million).

The company is focused on clinics for psychedelics-assisted therapy and plans to use the proceeds to support its expansion. Novamind holds a strategic investment in a legal psilocybin retreat facility in the Netherlands and has signed a letter of intent to purchase Cedar Clinical Research, a ketamine treatment clinic near Salt Lake City, Utah.

On July 5, the company also announced its intention to go public by consolidating with Hinterland Metals Inc., a public, unlisted Canadian mining company.

After the consolidation takes effect, the new company — re-named Novamind Inc. — plans to apply for a CSE listing. 

ATAI Acquires Majority Of Opioid Researcher Kures

ATAI Life Sciences has acquired a majority stake in Kures, a New York-based pharmaceutical company.

Kures is focused on researching the intersection of pain management and opioid use disorders.

Dr. Srinivas Rao, ATAI’s chief science officer, will serve as Kures’ new CEO.

Joining ATAI's platform comes with much more than a capital infusion, as the company plans to include Kures in its integral platform for psychedelic research, Rao said.

KUR-101, Kures flagship product, has shown promise in treating the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. KUR-101 is a derivative of mitragynine, a natural alkaloid used for centuries in Southeast Asia as a medicine for fatigue, pain and other conditions.

"We look forward to working with the ATAI team to bring new treatment options to patients suffering from pain and mental illness," said Kures co-founder Andrew Kruegel.

Graphic based on photo from Unsplash.