Emyria raises $8m amidst plans for national PTSD treatment roll-out with Avive Health

Emyria (ASX: EMD) has raised $8 million and secured exclusive rights to roll out its post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) care program nationally across Avive Health sites, while demand for its treatment has also been given a boost by a new government funding framework for eligible veterans.

The alternative drug developer and clinical services company experienced high demand for its $8 million institutional placement from specialist life-sciences and healthcare-aligned institutional investors, existing supporters, and new strategic entrants at 6 cents per share (cps).

As Emyria plans to expand Empax PTSD treatment nationwide from its existing Perth base, it has already started generating revenue in Brisbane where the first insurer-funded patients have been treated at Avive's licensed private hospital.

Meanwhile, an option has been exercised to establish Emyria's first Empax clinic in Victoria within Avive Health’s flagship mentalhealth hospital on the Mornington Peninsula, marking a major East Coast expansion milestone.

Avive's network currently includes four clinics nationwide and two more under construction.

This strengthening of Emyria's partnership with Avive comes as a new reimbursement pathway for its treatment has opened up from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), adding to an agreement with Medibank Private (ASX: MPL) in June.

Earlier this month the DVA started funding medication-assisted psychotherapy for eligible veterans, representing the first government-payer reimbursement framework of its kind for this class of treatment globally.

It is estimated that approximately 17 per cent of veterans experience PTSD and 11 per cent live with treatment-resistant depression, which Emyria believes highlights the large veteran cohort that may benefit from its alternative reimbursed therapy.

"We’re pleased to exercise the Mornington option and expand our agreement with Avive Health, enabling the establishment of new funded Empax clinics across additional states, strengthening our national rollout pathway," says Emyria executive chairman Greg Hutchinson.

"These developments increase our access to aligned clinical infrastructure and support our mission to make high-quality, evidence-based mental-health care more accessible to Australians with unmet mental health need.

"With insurer-funded programs now operating in Western Australia and Queensland, and with the DVA now actively supporting treatment for eligible veterans, we are demonstrating that our model of care can scale nationally."

Hutchinson adds the strong backing for Emyria's $8 million placement positions the company to accelerate site development, grow its clinical workforce, and expand treatment availability for patients living with complex mental-health conditions.

Avive Health co-CEO Mark Sweeney is optimistic about the point of difference the Emyria partnership will bring to the company's clinics.

"By integrating Empax Clinics into both our Brisbane and Mornington Peninsula hospitals – Queensland and Victoria’s first hospital-based services of its kind – we offer patients the reassurance of hospital-level care throughout their medication-assisted psychotherapy journey," Sweeney says.

"Avive is focused on carefully scaling a national network of clinician-led mental health hospitals and clinics, beginning with Brisbane and the Mornington Peninsula and extending to Adelaide and additional sites over time."