Debra Borchardt
R&D pharmaceutical company FSD Pharma Inc. (CSE: HUGE) (OTCQB: FSDDF) finalized its acquisition of Prismic in a deal valued at approximately $17.5 million or C$23.4 million. The company said that the deal will be satisfied by the issuance of approximately 102.7 million Class B subordinate voting shares in the capital of FSD Pharma at a deemed price of CAD$0.2275 (US$0.1704) per FSD Share.
In addition, FSD Pharma said it has agreed to assume approximately $3.05 million of outstanding Prismic long- and short-term liabilities. All of the outstanding Prismic stock options and warrants have been converted into options and warrants to purchase FSD shares, with the number and exercise price of such securities having been adjusted in accordance with the exchange ratio under the agreement.
Dr. Raza Bokhari, Executive Co-Chairman and CEO said, “The Prismic acquisition represents strategic depth in the vision and mission of FSD Pharma and signals a paradigm shift in the overall outlook of the company. We are relying heavily on the expertise of Dr. Brennan, who is a seasoned pharmaceutical industry veteran with substantial experience from working at Glaxo Smith Kline and Johnson & Johnson to navigate us through the various stages of the FDA approval process for drug development, with the goal of eventually making synthetic cannabinoid prescription medications available for commercial use to help alleviate the pain and suffering of patients. We are confident, Peter Moriarty, another well-known pharmaceutical industry veteran, who was also one of the founders of Shire Pharmaceuticals, will make a meaningful contribution to the FSD Pharma story as the Chairman of the BioPharmaceutical industry advisory board.”
Prismic is a US-based specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to addressing the opioid crisis by developing novel non-addictive prescription drugs for the treatment of pain, inflammation, and neurological disorders, based on formulations utilizing the company’s micro-PEA development platform (palmitoylethanolamide with particle sizes of 0.6 – 10 microns). Such formulations take advantage of micro-PEA’s “synergistic” or “entourage” effect on certain drugs impacting the endocannabinoid system. This means that lower doses of those drugs may be administered together with micro-PEA to achieve the desired therapeutic effect.
This includes the potential combination or concomitant use of micro-PEA formulations with drugs such as THC, CBD, certain anticonvulsants, and opioids where studies have indicated opioid-sparing and tolerance delaying properties of micro-PEA may impact the development of dependence in patients. Prismic’s first prescription drug candidate, PP-101, a 600 mg tablet of micro-PEA, is anticipated to commence a Phase 2/3 accelerated clinical development program in 2020 as a concomitant medication to be administered with pregabalin (Pfizer’s Lyrica®) for the treatment of fibromyalgia.
FSD Pharma will continue to be led by Raza Bokhari, MD, Executive Co-Chairman & CEO. Zachary Dutton, co-founder of Prismic, will continue to serve as the CEO of Prismic, reporting to Edward Brennan, Jr. MD, FACS, President of the FSD Biosciences Division. Peter Moriarty, co-founder and previous Chairman of the Board of Prismic, has been named Chairman of the newly-formed FSD BioPharmaceutical Industry Advisory Board.
