Psyched: Field Trip Gets $20 Price Target, DEA Seeks To Increase Psilocybin Production Limits, Synthesis Closes $7.25M Series A

Contents

1. Field Trip Receives A $20 Price Target With A Buy Rating, Launches New Therapist Programs
2. The DEA Seeks To Increase Federal Production Limits For Research Psilocybin
3. Synthesis Institute Closes $7.25M Series A Funding Through A Non-Traditional VC Path
4. Red Light Holland and Creso Pharma Call Off Psilocybin-Cannabis Merger
5. MindSet Pharma Announces Successful Results From Preclinical Trials
6. The Milestone Round

Field Trip Receives A $20 Price Target With A Buy Rating, Launches New Therapist Programs

HC WainWright began coverage of Field Trip Health FTRP with a Buy rating and a $20 price target. The company’s shares closed at $5.2 on Friday’s trading session.

With this prediction, Field Trip stock could be worth almost four times its price in just one year, further cementing the institutional backing of the psychedelics sector.

The firm said FT-104, the company’s flagship drug candidate, could soon have among the most robust intellectual property protection in the space.

“With clinics generally achieving profitability within 15-18 months and with multiple potential psychedelic compound approvals anticipated from 2023 and beyond, a leading operator of clinics such as Field Trip could have a steady and growing cash flow from operations, with healthy margins.”

Though very optimistic, the analysts mentioned that the company’s strategy still carries

substantial risk. 

Last week, Field Trip also announced a new program that will enable independent psychedelic therapists to provide ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at its health centers and launched a new therapist training program in psychedelics-assisted psychotherapy to be dictated in October.

The DEA Seeks To Increase Federal Production Limits For Research Psilocybin

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing a significant increase in federal limits for the production of psilocybin, psilocin and marijuana for research purposes.

In a clear proof of institutional interest for the therapeutic value of some Schedule 1 substances, the DEA published a new document in the Federal Register last Thursday advocating for an increase in the aggregate production quotas for these naturally-produced substances, Marijuana Moment reported.

Research-grade psilocybin (also known as the active compound in “magic mushrooms”) would be taken up to 1500 grams of production, from a current ceiling of only 30 grams.

The quota for psilocin, which is the metabolized version of psilocybin and is also present in psilocybin mushrooms, would be increased to 1000 grams from 50 grams as initially proposed.

“DEA firmly believes in supporting regulated research of schedule I controlled substances,” wrote the agency. “Therefore, the [Aggregate Production Quota] increases reflect the need to fulfill research and development requirements in the production of new drug products.”

The document will now be up for review by interested parties for a 30-day period.

Synthesis Institute Closes $7.25M Series A Funding Through A Non-Traditional VC Path

Netherlands-based Synthesis Institute, known for its wellness retreats and psychedelic practitioner training, has closed a $7.25 million Series A funding round.

The company adopted and raised funds as a "Steward-Ownership organization." This self-governance structure instills safeguards to ensure that company profits primarily serve a defined purpose, rather than accruing to the founders and investors. Stewards’ control of the company can never be sold; it can only be passed on to the next generation of “mission-driven leaders."

“We’re honored to have investment partners who trust our alternative approach, and we hope our journey as a successful for-profit stewardship organization will encourage other psychedelic businesses to consider alternative models of financing and growth.”

With its wellness retreats reopened in the Netherlands, Synthesis will leverage the new funds to further its development of best practices for safe, professional and group-based psychedelic retreats, as well as scale its psychedelic practitioner training and build out its newly acquired North American location.

Red Light Holland and Creso Pharma Call Off Psilocybin-Cannabis Merger

“Magic mushroom” company Red Light Holland TRIP TRUFF will not be merging with Creso Pharma Limited COPHF, as the companies had previously anticipated.

In June, the two companies signed a definitive agreement to merge into a new company called The HighBrid Lab, which would have combined Red Light Holland’s psilocybin mushrooms business with Creso’s cannabis undertakings.

The companies decided to call off the deal though they will remain “allies in their mission to provide consumers with formerly illicit and functional substances across the world.”

Adam Blumenthal, Creso Pharma's non-executive chairman said the geographic span of the respective businesses made a merger impractical at this time.

The decision will not affect Creso’s involvement in the psychedelics industry. In July, the company acquired Halucenex Life Sciences, a Canadian psychedelics company working towards obtaining FDA and Health Canada permission to conduct a Phase 2 clinical trial on psilocybin for PTSD.

MindSet Pharma Announces Successful Results From Preclinical Trials

Mindset Pharma Inc. MSET MSSTF, a company developing novel psychedelic molecules, published positive results from two families of molecules under its development programs.

Compounds from “Family 3,” composed of psilocybin analogs, demonstrated extended duration of action and decreased effect size at the 5-HT2A receptor. These results mean the compounds could fit possible microdosing applications with better efficacy and safety.

“In-vivo results indicated that our Family 3 compounds demonstrated approximately 1/10th the effect size as psilocybin on behavioral measures of 5-HT2A activity in the mouse and are predicted to have extended duration of action consistent with once a day or once every other day dosing,” said Joseph Araujo, chief scientific officer of Mindset.

Compounds from “Family 4,” which are DMT and 5-MeO-DMT analogs, demonstrated a significant decrease in serotonergic toxicity and superior efficacy in head-to-head preclinical comparisons.

“DMT and 5-MeO-DMT both show promise as medicinal psychedelics due to their short duration of action and high potency. However, our studies suggest that serotonergic toxicity could represent a considerable health risk, potentially leading to high blood pressure, tremors, delirium and a range of other symptoms,” said James Lanthier, CEO of Mindset.

Mindset disclosed that Family 4 compounds can potentially be developed with improvements in safety, efficacy and duration of action when compared to 5-MeO-DMT.

The Milestone Round

• Emotional Intelligence Ventures has partnered with Tioga Research to develop a transdermal patch for sustained delivery of psilocin. Ei.Ventures plans to use Tioga’s technology of skin-applied products to develop botanical active pharmaceutical ingredients for the psychedelic supply chain.
• MindMed MNMD has partnered up with BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. to apply for a new patent that describes a method to collect digital measures that predict the emergence of agitation, an early symptom of many acute and chronic neurological and psychiatric conditions.