Psyched: Eleusis To Go Public Via Merger, New Psychedelics Bills In Utah, Virginia, Kansas And Missouri

Psychedelics Legalization Gains Momentum Around The Country: Bills Introduced In Utah, Virginia, Kansas And Missouri

A wave of psychedelics legislation continues to sweep across the country.

In Virginia, two very similar proposals were introduced simultaneously in the House and Senate by Del. Dawn Adams and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi.

The bills would amend the state’s drug statute by making possession of psilocybin and psilocin by adults 21 and older a civil penalty subject to a $100 fine, from what currently constitutes a Class 5 felony. The Senate bill also includes peyote and ibogaine in its language.

In Utah, Rep. Brady Brammer introduced a bill intended to set up a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations around their use.

In Kansas, a bill was introduced to legalize low-level possession and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms.

If approved, the “Legalized Homegrown Psilocybin Mushroom Act of 2022,” would remove criminal penalties for possessing up to 50 grams of psilocybin or psilocin or cultivating psilocybin mushrooms. The bill would amend a state statute to make it “not be a violation” of state law to cultivate psilocin or psilocybin.

Last week, a Republican lawmaker in Missouri filed a bill to give residents with serious illnesses legal access to a range of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, ibogaine and LSD through an expanded version of the state’s existing right-to-try law.

Eleusis To Go Public Via Merger With Silver Spike Acquisition Creating $450M Company

British psychedelics company Eleusis will go public via a merger with Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. II SPKB, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of Silver Spike Capital. The two companies confirmed Thursday they have signed a definitive business combination agreement expected to make Eleusis a public company.

Upon the close of the transaction, the combined company will be operated through Eleusis Inc., a new holding company, and will apply to have its common stock listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “ELEU.”

ELE-Psilo, Eleusis’s lead drug candidate, is being developed to treat depression and is expected to enter Phase I trials in 2022, subject to regulatory authorization. Eleusis formulated ELE-Psilo to deliver psilocin, the active ingredient in psilocybin, via IV infusions.

The Merger Highlights

• The transaction implies a combined company enterprise value of approximately $446 million.

• The current owners of Eleusis will retain approximately 49% ownership of the combined company.

• The combined company expects to receive up to $287.5 million of gross proceeds from SPKB’s trust account.

• The boards of directors of both SPKB and Eleusis have unanimously approved the transaction.

• The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

MindMed Launches Study Using Monitoring System For Psychedelic Experiences

Psychedelics biotech company MindMed MNMD has enrolled the first subjects into its Session Monitoring System study.

The company’s Session Monitoring System (SMS) is a technology platform that can collect sensory data during a therapy session with a psychedelic drug.

The study will evaluate the passive collection of sensory data during a consciousness-altering therapeutic session. The company believes its SMS could have therapeutic applications in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Two-Thirds Of Physicians Say Psilocybin Therapy Can Help Treatment-Resistant Depression, New Survey Shows

Psilocybin-focused mental health care company COMPASS Pathways CMPS and Sermo announced findings from a survey of Sermo physician members that showed two-thirds of doctors believe psilocybin therapy has potential therapeutic benefit for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Sponsored by COMPASS, the survey was conducted in November 2021 with 259 participants from the US, UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands.

Doctors were asked their views on the future of psychiatry and the potential role of psilocybin therapy.

Here are some of the key findings:

• 66% of doctors surveyed said they believe psilocybin therapy has potential benefit for patients with TRD

• 50% would prescribe psilocybin therapy if approved, while 32% are undecided.

• The most significant potential advantages to psilocybin treatment are believed to include: improved efficacy in treatment-resistant conditions (30%), rapid onset of action (26%), and different mechanisms of action from existing therapies (19%)     

• The most significant potential barriers to treatment were cited as: needing a dedicated space for six to eight hours (28%), lack of trained therapists in a new model of psychological support (21%) and office infrastructure (15%)    

Lawmakers Send Bipartisan Letter To DEA: Allow Psilocybin Treatment Under Right-To-Try Laws

Bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter on Tuesday requesting that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allow terminally ill patients to use psilocybin as an investigational treatment without the fear of federal prosecution, reported Marijuana Moment. 

The letter to the DEA, introduced last month by Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, highlights the importance of state and federal right-to-try laws that should allow certain patients to obtain psychedelic medicines that have shown potential in clinical trials. 

According to the letter, “research demonstrates that psilocybin provides immediate, substantial and sustained relief from debilitating anxiety and depression in individuals with terminal illnesses.” In addition to Blumenauer, the other signatories on the letter are Republican representatives Don Bacon and Andy Biggs, as well as Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee, Dean Philips and Madeleine Dean.

Numinus Wellness Reveals 244.5% YoY Improvement In Q1 Revenue & Wider Loss

Numinus Wellness Inc. NUMIF reported its fiscal first-quarter results Thursday for the three months ended Nov. 30, 2021. Based in Vancouver, the company stated that it ended the quarter strong with a cash position of CA$53.9 million ($43.15 million).

• Revenues grew 244.5% year-over-year to CA$0.8 million, due primarily to the acquisition of Mindspace. Sequentially, revenues increased 60.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

• The loss was CA$5.4 million for the period, compared to a loss of CA$1.9 million in the same quarter of 2021.

• On Nov. 29, 2021, the company announced that Numinus Bioscience had developed proprietary psychedelic drug tests with new toxicity and potency scans.

• Numinus also finalized a study design and protocol for a Phase 1 clinical trial on a naturally derived psilocybin extract (NBIO-01) and submitted its clinical trial application to Health Canada for a Phase 1 trial of NBIO-01.