Debra Borchardt
Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSXV: NUMI) has acquired Montreal-based psychedelic programming company Mindspace Psychology Services Inc (DBA Mindspace Wellbeing). The agreement brings together the capabilities of two leading Canadian organizations to develop and scale delivery of evidence-based psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to provide the highest quality patient outcomes.
The deal has an approximate value of C$3.7 million. Just last week, Numinus had announced announce that it has entered into an agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Eight Capital for a bought deal basis that delivered approximately $10 million.
The acquisition of Mindspace builds upon Numinus’ recently announced plans to embark upon an open-label compassionate access clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for substance use disorders and its partnership with the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a leading psychedelic education and research organization, to begin a similar trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.
“Adding Mindspace to the Numinus platform will provide strong synergies for both companies,” said Dr. Devon Christie, Medical Director at Numinus and a MAPS-trained therapist for the delivery of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. “The companies have similar values and complementary strengths, which make this a strong corporate and cultural fit. We are also proud to grow our presence nationally through this announcement.”
Numinus said that the acquisition not only adds a Montreal presence to its existing Vancouver location but also brings the insight and expertise gleaned from a decade of successful client-facing clinic management. The Mindspace Wellbeing clinics generated an average of 25% year-over-year growth over the past five years, including C$1.7M in revenue generation over the past twelve months that is anticipated to grow with the newly launched ketamine-assisted therapy program. Mindspace said it will operate under the ‘Mindspace by Numinus’ brand under the continued leadership of founder Dr. Flanders. The Corporate Wellbeing practice of Mindspace is not included within this agreement and will continue offering its services under another brand soon to be announced.
“Joining the Numinus team is a natural choice,” said Dr. Joe Flanders, Founder and Managing Partner of Mindspace. “It’s an excellent opportunity for us to work closely with a partner that shares our vision and values. We are impressed by the depth and rigor of Numinus’ clinical team and their authentic commitment to finding meaningful, accessible, and sustainable solutions to the mental health challenges we collectively face”.
In line with Numinus’ objectives stated in the prospectus filed in September 2020, the Vancouver clinic is being renovated to administer the trials which will enable Numinus to develop the infrastructure around psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, train its therapists, and implement, test, and refine optimal protocols for delivery even before these therapies are widely accessible. The company said that these trials will prepare the company to deliver fully regulated psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy that translates research-driven best practices into publicly accessible treatments. With the addition of Mindspace, Numinus said it will be uniquely positioned to provide patients with MDMA and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy under the expanded SAP revision based on its extensive work completed on developing protocols for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and its multiple locations.
“We’re very excited to be bringing the Mindspace brand under the Numinus umbrella,” said Payton Nyquvest, CEO of Numinus. “The combination furthers our stated mission and delivers on our prospectus. This is a first and major step forward in our plan for global expansion of revenue-generating clinics and virtual therapy with the objective of health and wellness for all. Today’s announcement sets a positive trajectory for making psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy more accessible to those in need.”
