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Clinic operator and alternative treatment company Emyria (ASX: EMD) has entered into an exclusive agreement with the University of Western Australia (UWA) to develop a drug discovery pipeline of new psychedelic therapies.
The deal will see the clinical drug development and care delivery group secure the rights to a library of more than 100 MDMA-like compounds or 'analogues' from the university.
Developed over the last 10 years by medicinal chemist Dr Matt Piggott, the library contains analogues designed to engage different neurological targets, potentially eliciting clinical and neuro-cognitive effects.
The MDMA-analogues show promise in helping treat patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Parkinson's disease.
"With this exclusive agreement, Emyria has now added a unique drug discovery pipeline, which complements our existing programs, and which leverages years of research and development by Dr Matt Piggott and his team," says Emyria managing director Dr Michael Winlo.
"This agreement creates an opportunity for Emyria to lead the development of the next generation of MDMA-like compounds so they may become registered treatments for patients with major psychiatric and neurological disorders."
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Emyria will initially fund a minimum of $491,000 to UWA and Dr Matt Piggott over the next year to support further screening and analysis on the current set of more than100 novel MDMA-analogues.
"I am delighted to be working with Emyria and their team of clinicians and partners to investigate the therapeutic potential of our MDMA analogues," says associate professor Matt Piggott.
"Emyria has the resources to accelerate the development of drug candidates and demonstrated capacity to register neurological treatments that improve patient wellbeing."
Originally known as Emerald Clinics, Emyria has expanded its horizons and continues to develop treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.
"As a data-backed clinical care provider and drug developer we are uniquely positioned to lead the accelerated development and registration of promising new treatments as well as collect the evidence required to demonstrate adequate safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness and we look forward to updating the market accordingly on the progression of this program," says Winlo.
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