Awakn Life Sciences Seeks To Treat Addictions: Gambling, Binge Eating And Compulsive Sexual Behavior

Awakn Life Sciences AWKNF is not only going after alcoholism but also binge eating disorder, compulsive sexual behavior and even Internet gaming disorder.
When founded, Awakn's stated goal was to treat different types of addictions through the use of psychedelics. Primarily through ketamine and MDMA, the company intends to tackle both alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other behavioral addictions, such as gambling addiction.In January, the company announced that it would expand its ketamine study beyond gambling addiction, but also into the realms of binge eating disorder, compulsive sexual behavior and Internet gaming disorder. The study explores and monitors whether ketamine can increase neuroplasticity using electroencephalograms, analyzing if the brain can form novel connections with help of the drug.
According to Awakn, binge eating disorder affects up to 110 million people globally, Internet gaming disorder affects up to 238 million and compulsive sexual behavior is a problem for up to 350 million people. Added to the number of people affected by gambling disorders — some 450 million people — it is almost imperative to find a viable treatment for these disorders.
Earlier this month, Awakn Clinics in London received Care Quality Commission's (CQC) formal approval to begin treatments for addiction and mental health. Along with a recently published Phase II a/b clinical trial for the treatment of AUD, which developed a treatment protocol used in the clinics and last year’s acquisition of the exclusive rights to the data from the phase IIa Bristol Imperial MDMA in Alcoholism Study (BIMA) from Imperial College London, make a very strong beginning of the year for Awakn, although it may have been trending down.
A week ago, the company announced that they had closed a non-brokered private placement for around $3,250,000.

Photo: Courtesy of DiamondRehab Thailand on Unsplash