Dave Hodes
While the numbers on the spreadsheets of psychedelics companies are still to be taken with a grain of salt, given that this is an emerging biotechnology industry still in the drug development stage, there are encouraging signs that perhaps 2022 could be the beginning of a rebound.
Some of the financial downbeat news from 2021 is more than offset by acquisitions and partnerships news that have or will soon give the psychedelics industry the sort of financial firepower that has been predicted for years. For example, the January acquisition of Eleusis, a clinical-stage life science company, by Silver Spike Acquisition Corporation, created a combined company enterprise value of approximately $446 million.
Here are the results of financial reports from the fiscal year 2021 for three selected psychedelics companies, each with a note about what the company has done or is doing to advance its standing and give it some real financial muscle going forward.
– Enveric Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ENVB), is a neuroscience company developing next-generation psychedelic-inspired mental health medicines, based in Naples, Florida.
Enveric made a couple of strategic moves in 2021 to build on its foundational aspirations, including being added to the new AdvisorShare Psychedelics ETF trading on the NYSE Arca exchange; and filing and publishing four patent applications for psychedelic-inspired drug candidates with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The four patent applications are focused on the tryptamine family of novel molecules. The company’s net loss for the year was $48.8 million, $40 million more than in 2020, but it reported it still had $17.4 million in cash with working capital of $15.3 million and had raised $10 million during the year that it expects to use to advance its new drug delivery platform and assist with managing its growing IP portfolio.
Good news for 2022: The company also announced a collaboration with the University of Calgary on a clinical trial for cancer-related distress, expected to launch in 2023. And in September, Enveric completed the acquisition of MagicMed Industries Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company focused on creating a library of novel derivative psychedelic molecules such as psilocybin, N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and other molecular derivatives with applications across multiple indications, in an all-stock transaction. With this acquisition, Enveric intends to expand into a next-generation neuroscience drug discovery platform of novel psychedelics that addresses the large unmet mental health challenges related to the central nervous system.
– Filament Health Corp. (OTCQB: FLHLF) (NEO: FH) (FSE: 7QS), is a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Filament Health is riding high with cash and cash equivalents of $4.6 million and working capital of $5 million as of the end of 2021. The Canadian company spent just $5.4 million on operating expenses last year.
Good news for 2022: Filament’s superpower was in leveraging its stock in 2021: issued 99,844 common shares to a service provider in exchange for the reduction of $39,938 in debts owing; issued 1,650,000 options to purchase common shares to six parties; and issued 226,000 restricted share unit awards, under which the holders have the right to receive an aggregate of 226,000 common shares.
– Mydecine Innovations Group (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) (FSE: 0NFA), is a biotechnology company developing innovative first- and second-generation novel therapeutics for the treatment of mental health and addiction based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Mydecine appears to be regrouping after a discontinued operation cost them $5.3 million in 2021, which contributed to a net loss of $28.9 million for the year. For the two years ending December 2021, the company has experienced a combined net loss of just over $55.8 million. The Canadian company reports that it had $1.5 million in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of 2021, has secured additional funding and is moving forward with clinical trials and projects to expand its IP portfolio.
Good news for 2022: Mydecine progressed to a Phase 2b smoking cessation study following a positive meeting with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application. In Q2 2022, the company plans to file an IND and breakthrough status application and will begin patient recruitment upon receipt of FDA approval. The multi-site study’s lead investigator will be Johns Hopkins University. The company also signed a five-year Master Collaboration Research Agreement with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, demonstrating the company’s commitment to advancing psychedelic medicine by exploring multiple molecules and drugs for various indications.
