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Biotech Emyria (ASX: EMD) has raised $2.5 million to support the development of its MDMA-assisted therapy program in a tranche led by Sixty Two Capital and Taylor Collison.
Tenmile Ventures - a branch of Australian billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Tattarang investment vehicle - also returned to back the bioetch which will use the funds to deliver MDMA-assisted therapy with trauma specialist centre The Pax Centre from 1 July 2023.
Emyria will also use the funds to advance clinical trials and support US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration preparations for its over-the-counter CBD treatment known as EMD-RX9 for anxiety and stress.
Managing director Dr Michael Winlo says the placement - conducted at an offer price of 15c per share - demonstrates the confidence Emyria’s strategic directors have in the company’s vision and potential.
“This investment enables us to advance multiple, innovative treatment development programs as well as deliver scalable, evidence-generating psychedelic-assisted therapy with our specialist partners,” Winlo says.
“We are well set to deliver on our vision of improving the lives of patients with mental health and neuroscience challenges while generating enduring value for our shareholders.”
As part of the company’s MDMA-assisted therapy program, Emyria has already secured supply of the psychedelic drug which was approved for the treatment of PTSD by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) earlier this year.
The decision means that from 1 July psychiatrists will be permitted to prescribe the drug as long as they are approved under the TGA’s Authorised Prescriber Scheme following approval by a human research ethics committee.
Psilocybin - more commonly known as magic mushrooms - was also approved by the TGA for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression.
According to Emyria, training has been scheduled with internationally renowned psychiatrist Dr Ben Sessa for delivery of MDMA-assisted therapy and the company’s care protocol is currently under ethics committee review.
“Emyria is establishing an evidence-based, licensable care model for both MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy that can scale through partner sites,” Emyria says.
“Funding from this placement will help Emyria scope additional clinical partnership opportunities.”
Since announcing it had secured an MDMA supplier, Emyria has made further inroads in the space including partnering with The Pax Centre. The company hopes this collaboration will give those suffering from PTSD - estimated to be around one million people in Australia - some assistance.
“As the burden of PTSD grows, the interest and demand for new treatment options increases amongst patients and specialists,” Winlo said earlier this year.
“Following the TGA’s recent decision to reschedule MDMA to a controlled medicine, we believe the demand amongst psychiatry groups for a safe, cost-effective, and evidence-based care program to deliver MDMA-assisted therapy in the community for suitably screened patients.”
Beyond the planned work with The Pax Centre, Emyria has been building up its library of MDMA analogues - chemical entities related to the drug that are altered to address different neurological problems.
The Perth-based company now has more than 150 analogues in its library which Emyria hopes will be able to address challenging conditions such as PTSD and Parkinson’s disease.
Shares in EMD were down 8.82 per cent to 16c per share at 11am AEST.
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