Psychedelic Medicine and the Future of Mental Health Care Looks Promising - Seite 2

Although Johnson & Johnson arguably kickstarted psychedelic medicines' move into mainstream medicine when its Ketamine-like drug treatment for severe depression was handed FDA approval, Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (NEO:MMED) (OTCQB:MMEDF) has continued to make headway with its novel psychedelic drug treatments.

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (MMED.AQN) (MMEDF.QB) just launched Project Lucy, a commercial drug development program for the treatment of anxiety disorders and plans to initiate a Phase 2b human trial that will focus on experiential doses of LSD administered by a therapist. The company has also established a task force to prepare a briefing package for a potential Investigational New Drug (IND) with the FDA.

Prior to the launch of Project Lucy, Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (MMED.AQN) (MMEDF.QB)  became the only pure-play publicly-traded North American psychedelics company to conduct Phase 2 trials on a psychedelic compound. The company entered into clinical trial agreement with Maastricht University to conduct a Phase 2a clinical trial for LSD in adult patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which are expected to begin by the end of this year.

While companies like MindMed stake their claim on the market, some Big Pharma companies are taking the "if you can't beat em, join em" approach and launching psychedelic drug studies of their own. Allergan Plc, which was acquired by AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) last month, tried to advance its ketamine-derived drug rapastinel as an adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in 2019. However, the company abandoned its efforts after three acute pivotal studies failed to meet its primary endpoint. Since rapastinel was discontinued, Allergan has been working on a new treatment for depression and bi-polar disorder with its drug VRAYLAR, which has already been approved by the FDA for testing. Big Pharma will undoubtedly be on the search for innovative companies and clinical trials for other psychedelics.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) has also made a move for the alternative medicine market via a strategic distribution agreement with Canndoc, a subsidiary of InterCure. However, it's unclear if the Israel-based pharma giant will make a move into the psychedelic space.

Even former Chief Scientific Officer of Neuroscience of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Michael Ehlers has joined the psychedelic research movement by joining the advisory board of a psychedelic clinics company Field Trip.